Thanksgiving's effects on Nevada COVID-19 spread will take weeks to determine, official says

Kristin Oh
Reno Gazette Journal

State officials say it's too early to know what impact Thanksgiving travel will have on the spread of COVID-19 in Nevada. 

Caleb Cage, Nevada's COVID-19 response director, said in a conference call Monday  that the soonest they will see in the impact of the holiday will be in a couple of weeks. 

On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak announced new restrictions to halt a surge in coronavirus cases.

They included restricting private gatherings to 10 people from no more than two households, and public gathering limits of 50, including for churches. The restrictions also included wearing masks whenever with someone not part of the immediate household, inside and outside.

Nationwide, nearly 1.2 million travelers passed through airport checkpoints on Sunday, Nov. 29, a record number since the pandemic started. That number was still half of the number of travelers in airports the Sunday after Thanksgiving 2019.

The state COVID-19 conference call also addressed the effects of the pandemic on Nevadans' mental health.

Dr. Stephanie Woodard, senior adviser on behavioral health for the Department of Health and Human Services, said that working from home, loss of income, food insecurity and health concerns are all affecting Nevadans' mental health.

Woodard said that Nevada ranked first in the country for adults who showed symptoms of depression. 

A Centers for Disease Control survey taken from Oct. 28 to Nov. 9 found that 34% of Nevada adults exhibited symptoms consistent with depression, the highest percentage in the country, Woodard said.

The data also showed that 39.9% of Nevada adults showed symptoms that are consistent with anxiety -- the eighth-highest rate in the country, Woodard said.

Woodard said that the survey findings are three to four times higher than those of a 2019 survey.

More:'Help us get through the finish line' Reno mayor pleads as area faces high COVID-19 risk levels

Nevada has reported 152,169 COVID-19 cases and 2,144 COVID-related deaths, according to data from the Nevada Health Response.

In Washoe County, the number of COVID-19 related deaths has doubled for the second week in a row. As of Sunday, the latest data available, 274 Nevadans have died as a result of COVID-19 in Washoe County. 

Kristin Oh is a public safety reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal. She can be reached at koh@rgj.com or at 775-420-1285.  Please help support her work by subscribing