Two officers test positive, hospital patients rising, agencies say

Two officers in the Metropolitan Police Department have tested positive for COVID-19, while tests for 15 others are pending. Each day, University Medical Center is seeing about a 10 percent increase in coronavirus patients.

Multiple agencies provided updates Wednesday about the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic. But in addressing their coordinated regional response to the crisis, officials were also clear: It has not interrupted services, even if it has changed the approach to work.

Some compared the outbreak to the emergency response during the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip, except that disaster itself ended relatively quickly.

“This is an event that continues, and it continues to get worse by day,” Metro Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said during a morning news conference.

UMC CEO Mason VanHouweling called it an “ultra-marathon.”

“But right now we have no reduction in service and no reduction in the quality of service that we’re able to provide,” Clark County Fire Chief John Steinbeck said.

Clark County Commission Chairwoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick, who led Wednesday’s briefing, said she wanted to assure the public that there has been a concerted effort underway to address the pandemic.

Here are the updates provided by the agencies that spoke to the media:

Metro

McMahill said that 39 officers have been tested, two were positive for coronavirus, 22 were negative and the department was waiting on tests for 15 others. About 84 employees have been quarantined because they have had some exposure to the disease.

He said that there has been a “significant reduction” in crime since the outbreak, including a 20 percent drop in violent crime within his jurisdiction and similarly significant dips in property and overall crime, including domestic violence.

“There are some issues. I’m not going to stand before you and tell you everything is perfect,” he said. “We have had an increase in our traditional violent crime hot spots of firearm calls of about 35 percent, and so we’re worried about that trend.”

With 6,000 employees at Metro, who do not have the luxury of staying clear of the public, officers have had to be warned to protect themselves and practice good hygiene, and patrol cars are disinfected and additional questions are asked during emergency calls to limit officer exposure.

UMC

VanHouweling said that the 541-bed hospital has tested about 600 community members and roughly 20 percent of tests have come back positive. Those patients are being treated either at UMC or from their homes via telemedicine, he added.

The hospital has seen a variety of patients, both healthy and as young as 20 years old, he said, underscoring that COVID-19 is not a selective disease.

“Ventilators, we’re good on,” he said, noting the hospital has about 120. “About 50 percent of those are in use now, but it will go up. Everyday we’re seeing about a 10 percent increase in our (patient) numbers.”

Supplies of personal protective equipment, ventilators and hospital beds have been concerns of agencies across the U.S, and VanHouweling said UMC was seeking protective equipment throughout the world and conserving what it has on hand.

The hospital is working to increase its capacity to 150 percent, including in unconventional ways, as regional officials seek to secure 500 to 1,000 beds for patients who do not need to be hospitalized, he said.

Clark County

A day after the Southern Nevada Health District board approved constructing a 40-bed isolation facility for patients who do not need hospitalization, county officials said that a dozen other facilities — including hotels, motels and convention spaces — have been assessed.

A complex at Cashman Center is expected to house at least 350 homeless individuals. Assistant County Manager Kevin Schiller said that recent losses of shelter beds in the county because of the coronavirus pandemic have been dramatic.

So officials are pursuing motel, hotels and transitional housing leases as they try to serve not only homeless patients but also homeless people who are not sick. Staffing is one the biggest issues the county is facing, he said, and he also urged people who might have space they can offer to contact the county.

Southern Nevada Health District

Dr. Fermin Leguen, acting chief health officer, said testing had been expanded in the county. As others did, he urged individuals with symptoms to consult their primary care physician if possible and visit the emergency room if symptoms are severe, such as chest pain and difficulty breathing.

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