CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada reported 410 new coronavirus cases on Friday in the state’s largest single-day jump in new cases since the start of the pandemic.
The state now has 12,486 confirmed cases, including 9,852 in Clark County, which is home to Las Vegas. With no new deaths, the statewide death toll remains at 478.
The 410 new cases surpassed the previously largest single-day jump of 379 positive tests reported on Monday. The number of daily new cases has climbed as Nevada has expanded testing capacity and reopened casinos, restaurants and other businesses in a limited fashion.
On Friday, the Flamingo Las Vegas hotel-casino confirmed two employees tested positive for COVID-19. The workers will quarantine for two weeks and contact tracing protocol will be implemented, Richard Broome, Caesar Entertainment spokesman, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
After falling throughout May, the percentage of individual tests yielding positive results has climbed since May 26. Over the past week, 5.7% of those tested have been positive for the virus.
The rise in new cases prompted Gov. Steve Sisolak to consider implementing stricter measures to contain the spread of the virus.
Sisolak, a Democrat, said he was considering enhanced face covering policies, a day after California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a statewide face covering mandate for public places.
Nevada already requires employees of businesses that have reopened to wear face coverings, but does not require consumers to do so.
The Southern Nevada Health District on Monday urged businesses to enact mask mandates, while the Nevada Gaming Control Board which regulates casinos said it planned to continue to encourage them but not impose them.
In other Nevada coronavirus news:
—The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that Nevada’s unemployment rate fell from 30.1% in April to 25.3% in May. The state’s unemployment rate remains the nation’s highest.
—Heather Korbulic, the interim director of the state Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, is leaving her position. Sisolak announced her departure in a statement Friday, saying Korbulic made the request because of “threats to her personal safety.” He did not describe the nature of the threats. She came to the agency in April as pandemic-caused unemployment soared. She will return to her role as executive director of the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange.
—The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles will require applicants taking a driving test to wear a face covering after a Las Vegas driving instructor tested positive for the coronavirus. The instructor reported feeling ill Wednesday, just two days after DMV offices statewide reopened for the first time in three months. According to DMV officials, the instructor was wearing personal protective equipment the previous two days. Driving tests are expected to resume Monday.
