Schools play key role in Clark County’s COVID-19 strike team strategy

Schools will play an important role in Clark County’s effort to turn back the tide of COVID-19 in some of the hardest-hit local communities.

The county showcased a piece of its “strike team” strategy for fighting the spread of the disease caused by the new coronavirus, an effort that will provide free COVID-19 testing at four predominantly Latino schools in east Las Vegas this month.

The testing effort, organized by Clark County in partnership with the Southern Nevada Health District, Clark County School District and other organizations, was highlighted in a Thursday event at Cortney Junior High School in the southeast Las Vegas Valley.

Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson, whose district includes the school, said in a news release that the testing dovetails with the county strategy of targeting the hardest-hit local communities.

“Many of our constituents are members of the Hispanic community, which is suffering a disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases,” he said. “We are working to build more awareness about the dangers this virus poses to our friends and neighbors who are of Hispanic heritage.”

The other schools offering the testing are Monaco, Mack and Martin middle schools. All four locations will offer two days of testing.

No appointment is needed to get a nasal swab test, which detects whether an active infection is present. About 400 tests will be available each day on a first-come, first-served basis.

Testing is for anyone, including children, the county said. Residents are asked to wear a face covering and bring photo identification and their phone number.

Negative results will be posted through a secure website seven days after the test. Patients who test positive will receive a phone call within 24 to 48 hours, Gibson said.

Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom and Linda Cavazos, vice president of the Clark County School Board — both of whom represent parts of east Las Vegas — worked together to bring testing to the area.

They thought about convenient places to offer testing “and truthfully, the best places are the schools,” Segerblom said.

He also stressed at Thurday’s media event that patients don’t need to have a Social Security number and should not to be afraid to get tested.

There has been a rapid increase in the number of COVID-19 cases among the Latino community, particularly, in the east valley, Gibson said.

More than one-quarter of the 20,622 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Clark County as of Thursday were Hispanic or Latino residents, he noted. Hispanic or Latino residents make up about 31.6 percent of Clark County’s population overall, according to 2019 U.S. Census Bureau data.

Clark County and other partners also recently launched a public education campaign aimed at the Hispanic and Latino community. It’s called “Esta En Tus Manos” (“It’s in your hands”).

Cavazos said there are families who share a car and juggle work schedules, and it’s challenging to get to the other side of town for COVID-19 testing.

“That doesn’t work for them and it also adds to the anxiety and the mental and emotional stress of not knowing whether you can get a test or not and how long it will take to get back,” she said.

Several area residents and Las Vegas city Councilwoman Olivia Diaz were tested in the school cafeteria during the Thursday event to demonstrate how the process works.

One of the workers administering the tests — in both English and Spanish — stood at a distance from each patient, and instructed them how to swab each of their nostrils and put the swab into a vial when they were done.

More than 70 strike team events have been held across Southern Nevada since early May at facilities such as senior living and community centers, the county said in the news release.

Clark County Fire Department Capt. Joe Geeb, who’s also mobility branch director, told the Review-Journal that strike teams focus on testing in COVID-19 hot spots.

He said his focus currently is now on the east side of the valley.

Providing testing in east Las Vegas also improves accessibility to testing, Geeb said, particularly when residents rely on buses for transportation. “With it being so hot outside, we really want to come to them, if we can,” he said.

Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.