Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak shared on Friday that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
The governor's office said as part of a regular testing protocol Gov. Sisolak underwent a routine test on Friday in Carson City and a rapid test provided a positive result.
The governor also received a diagnostic PCR test and those results were pending, according to the governor's office.
Currently, the governor says he is not experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms other than earlier in the week feeling fatigued. And at that time he attributed it to his schedule.
"It was important to me to notify Nevadans as soon as possible of my positive COVID-19 test results. I am currently not experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms and I have returned to my residence to begin the quarantine and isolation process. Shortly after the test result came back, I underwent a disease investigation interview with Carson City Health and Human Services," said Gov. Sisolak. "I want to thank the health officials who assisted me through this process. They serve as a strong reminder of how proud we should all be of our State’s public health workers. With my case, I want to underscore the importance of Nevadans to stay at home as much as they possibly can at this time. There were more than 1,800 new cases identified in Nevada yesterday and cases are growing at a rate of 1.3 percent or, 1,402 new cases per day."
Prior to Friday’s test, the governor had received negative results on all previous tests – including his last two regular COVID tests conducted on Nov. 2 and Nov. 6, according to the governor's office.
Consistent with guidelines from the CDC and the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, the governor will isolate and continue to monitor his symptoms. He says he will receive daily monitoring provided by the local health authority, in addition to regular check-ins from a local physician.
The governor has been interviewed by state and local public health officials and has also proactively reached out to those who may have been close contacts. Formal contact tracing efforts are underway to ensure all close contacts are notified and informed of the next steps in accordance with public health guidelines, according to the governor's office.
All public events have been canceled and the governor will remain in constant contact with his staff and his Cabinet and the work of the governor’s office is said to continue remotely.
The governor was last in the Carson City office on Thursday. Out of an abundance of caution, all staff in the Carson City office transitioned to work from home status Friday.
Any staff members deemed close contacts through the contact tracing process will remain in quarantine for the full period in compliance with CDC guidelines and must receive a negative test result before returning to the office upon completion of their full quarantine period.
All relevant staff members will continue to self-monitor for symptoms and quarantine – including staying at home and separating themselves from others, in accordance with public health guidelines. Those staffers will be working from home and are able to conduct their regular business during this time.
The governor’s office says it has followed all public health and safety protocols including temperature checks, wearing face coverings, social distancing and strict hygiene procedures.
This article was written by Jordan Gartner forKTNV.