Las Vegas, Clark County say they’re ready for coronavirus

As governments impacted by the coronavirus across the country are declaring states of emergency, Las Vegas and Clark County officials say they are prepared to deal with an outbreak if one occurs in the valley.

“Just wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands,” Mayor Carolyn Goodman said during Wednesday’s City Council meeting. “But don’t panic.”

City Manager Scott Adams told the council that Las Vegas has pulled together a team of senior city officials to evaluate its emergency management plans and revise them to react to a health crisis that has already roiled cities in California, Washington and Florida.

“Our whole goal is simply to plan ahead and make sure the city’s in a position to be responsive should we need to be,” Adams said.

The team will meet weekly and is being led by Tim Hacker, the city’s chief of public safety services.

“Nothing to be alarmed about yet,” Adams said. “Certainly we’ve not experienced anything yet.”

California, Washington and Florida have declared public health emergencies as cases of the respiratory illness COVID-19 have been confirmed. No cases have been announced in Nevada, though the state’s top medical official said Monday that it was only a matter of time.

While the prospect has stirred public anxiety, leading people to hoard food and water and boosting business for grocery delivery and home cleaning services, local government officials are stressing the basics of prevention.

The World Health Organization advises people to keep their hands clean, avoid touching their face and stay at least three feet from anyone coughing or sneezing.

On Tuesday, University Medical Center CEO Mason Vanhouweling told the Clark County Commission that the hospital was “not tracking anybody at this point.” But as a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention assessment and treatment facility, UMC is prepared, with 56 isolation rooms, he said.

Vanhouweling said coronavirus testing is now available in Nevada. Health officials can turn tests around within 3½ hours and diagnose, screen and isolate patients quicker than they could when specimens had to be sent to CDC headquarters in Atlanta, he said.

UMC is “very confident in our readiness plan” and has been working closely with partners throughout the state, Vanhouweling said, including the Southern Nevada Health District, Mccarran International Airport and Gov. Steve Sisolak’s office.

Commission Chairwoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick, who is also the vice chair of the health district board, said she wants people to feel “super comfortable that we are well-ready.”

While COVID-19 has commandeered attention in recent months, killing 11 in the U.S. as of Wednesday afternoon, Vanhouweling warned people not to forget about another deadly illness: influenza.

About 1,250 patients have been hospitalized in Southern Nevada since the flu season began in December, he said. On Monday, the health district reported that 35 people have died from the flu in Clark County over the same period.

Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @SHEA_LVRJ on Twitter.