Nevada officials, CDC shorten isolation period for mild COVID-19 cases

The experts in charge of Nevada’s COVID-19 response say those infected but without symptoms or just mild symptoms can use a “symptom based” strategy to shorten isolation by people who test positive.

Caleb Cage, head of the coronavirus task force, and Julia Peek, deputy Health Division administrator, said patients with mild to moderate illness are able to care for themselves at home can reduce isolation to 10 days instead of the full two weeks.

It is for patients who have at least 10 days since symptoms first appeared, 24 hours since the last fever and if symptoms such as cough and shortness of breath have improved.

It also applies to patients who were asymptomatic through their infection and at least 10 days have passed since their first positive test.

As of Friday, Cage and Peek report hospitalizations in Nevada have been flat for the past 24 hours at 1,283. They said Northern Nevada experienced its first significant decline in weeks but they cautioned that, while that’s encouraging, it’s still too early to determine whether the public is taking the governor’s Stay at Home 2.0 seriously.

As of Friday, Nevada has 129,714 cases of the virus, up 1,839 from Thursday. Test positivity is still about double the 8 percent limit set in guidelines — 15.8 percent.

All but three of Nevada’s 17 counties are flagged for risk of high transmission of the virus. The three not flagged are Mineral, Pershing and Storey, which are all below the 8 percent positivity level.

In Carson City, there have now been 1,545 confirmed cases of the disease and 11 deaths. In Churchill, 638 cases have resulted in eight deaths, 516 cases in Douglas, two deaths and 743 cases in Lyon 14 deaths. Tiny Storey has suffered 31 cases but zero deaths.

Washoe County reports 20,046 cases of the virus and 227 deaths.