Boulder City has it’s first case of COVID-19. Resident Manny Franco posted publicly on Facebook that he has tested positive after feeling ill, and heading into Sahara West Urgent Care, where the test was administered. First off, Manny we wish you a speedy recovery, and that you’ll soon have this unpleasant experience behind you!
After Manny was notified, he was instructed to contact anyone he had been in contact with over the past several weeks, and he said he decided to post on social media to help with that process as quickly as possible:
The official word from The City of Boulder City is, “All cases must be confirmed through the Southern Nevada Health District. Patient information is protected by HIPPA rules and will not be released by the city. The recommendations issued by the CDC and the Southern Nevada Health District for how each of us should protect ourselves remains the same: proper social distancing, frequent hand washing with soap for at least 20 seconds, and stay away from others if you are not feeling well.”
We had also simultaneously reached out to the Boulder City Hospital for some additional questions that we have had. They have an informative Frequently Asked Questions page HERE that you might want to check out.
Here is some helpful information for you, as of Friday, March 20, directly from the administration at the hospital:
“Regarding confirmed or suspected cases, anyone presenting at the ER with symptoms consistent with Covid 19 and tested is a suspected case. When we send the samples to SNHD for testing, we will not know if the illness is confirmed for approximately 4 days. If the patient is not in need of hospitalization, they will be sent home to self-isolate. As of Friday 3-20, I’m not aware [that] any patient has met the symptom criteria for a test to be conducted.
Hospitals cannot disclose private health information except to public health agencies. The ER does ask patients with infectious diseases to voluntarily disclose this information to 911 dispatch so that local first responders will know to apply PPE before entering the residence should they need emergency services.
The hospital has 48 test kits as of Friday 3-20, but no independent testing capability. Test kits are sent to SNHD for testing.”
In digging around, we also found THIS LINK HERE, which is a regularly updated count on the number of tests, cases and COVID-19 updates for the entire State of Nevada. You can filter it by Laboratory and select the Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory (SNPHL) to see the number of tests and positive cases in our area, although what is unclear is how many other tests could have been run in our area by private labs, such as Quest. Nonetheless, I think it’s worth noting how many tests have been run overall, that have been Negative for the coronavirus.
Again, let us emphasize that we should all take this seriously, and follow the guidelines from the CDC and our state and city officials. Practice good habits, comply with their requests, but most importantly stay calm and don’t panic. Let’s just help each other get through these challenging times, together.
