FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 29, 2020
Testing
Based on increasing demand for COVID-19 testing services at collection sites at its main location at 280 S. Decatur Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89107, and All Saints Episcopal Church, 4201 W. Washington Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89107, the Southern Nevada Health District has implemented an online registration-based system for people requesting testing services. The new registration service is available in English and Spanish at www.snhd.info/get-tested.
Additional Health District and partner testing locations and dates are available on a community testing calendar at www.snhd.info/covid-19-testing-sites.
The Southern Nevada Health District follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. It is no longer recommended that people who tested positive for COVID-19 be tested again. This recommendation includes employers who may have required employees be retested before returning to work. Under the updated guidance, people who had symptoms of COVID-19 can discontinue self-isolation after at least 10 days have passed since the symptoms began, at least 24 hours since a fever has resolved without taking fever-reducing medications such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen, and as long as there has been improvement in other symptoms. For those who were asymptomatic, release from isolation is 10 days from the test collection date.
Return to Work
The Health District and the CDC recommend that employers not require a health care provider’s note for employees to return to work. Most people with COVID-19 have mild illness and can recover at home without medical care. They are advised to follow CDC recommendations to determine when to discontinue home isolation and return to work. Many health care providers and medical facilities are extremely busy, and requiring return-to-work documentation may cause unnecessary delay for employees who are healthy and able to return to the workforce. The Health District does not provide return-to-work documentation. CDC business guidance is available here.
Disease Investigators and Contact Tracers
The Health District initially mobilized a response staff of approximately 60 disease investigators and contract tracers that included existing staff, employees from programs throughout the Health District, and community partners. Through the ongoing efforts of staff, the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health, partnerships with Clark County Social Services, UNLV, volunteers and others, the Health District ranks of contact tracers and disease investigators will expand by approximately 300.
Currently, 250 surge contact tracing personnel are providing services to the Health District through an agreement between the State and Deloitte. The Health District is also working to onboard an additional 200 case investigators through agreements with UNLV and a local call center. Recruitment is also underway to hire more than 80 temporary contact tracers through funding received from the CDC.
These additional resources will be vital to ensuring newly diagnosed cases are identified, and contacts notified in a timely manner to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in the community.
Lab Results Portal
As testing volume increases, the Health District and Southern Nevada Public Health Laboratory have been responding to the demand and operating at capacity. Due to this increased volume, laboratory reporting may be delayed. The Health District only provides results for specimens collected at its locations or community testing events. Health District patients can check their results online at www.snhd.info/lab-results/. Patients who were tested by another community provider will need to contact that testing location for their results.
The Health District continues to remind the public to stay home as much as possible, wear face coverings in public, wash hands frequently, and to stay home if they are sick.
Up-to-date information about COVID-19, including daily reports, is available on the Health District website at www.snhd.info/covid.
The Southern Nevada Health District serves as the local public health authority for Clark County, Boulder City, Henderson, Las Vegas, Mesquite and North Las Vegas. The agency safeguards the public health of the community’s residents and visitors through innovative programs, regulations, and initiatives focused on protecting and promoting their health and well-being. More information about the Health District, its programs, services, and the regulatory oversight it provides is available at www.SNHD.info. Follow the Health District on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.