The amount of COVID-19 cases in Washoe County is increasing again.
The Washoe County Health District (WCHD) says COVID cases doubled within in just the last couple of weeks. It's reporting a seven day moving average of 111 cases per day as of May 25. From May 17 to May 23 a total of 781 new cases were reported.
Click here to see the Washoe County COVID-19 Dashboard.
Kevin Dick, the health district officer said there could be more new cases that are not being tracked by WCHD.
"We have a lot of people just using the at-home test kits and we have people not bothering to get tested." Dick said. "While we have that number of 111 new cases per day, we believe we probably have five to 10 times more new cases that are happening in our community."
Dick said recognizing the higher number of cases in the county, means there's an increased risk of people being infected with the virus if interacting with others.
He said there is some good news. The health district officer said most cases of COVID appear to be mild. He also said local hospitals are doing fairly well. Washoe County data shows 23 patients hospitalized with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 and 84 percent of staffed beds at hospitals are occupied.
Dick said there are also fewer COVID related deaths being reported.
For CDC standards, community impact in Washoe County is low, meaning social distancing and mask wearing won't be required.
Click here to see how CDC measures COVID-19 community levels.
"But that doesn't mean COVID isn't out there and that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be recommending that people take precautions. We are recommending that people take precautions to avoid getting COVID-19, to avoid transmitting COVID-19 with the levels we're seeing occurring in our community right now." Dick added.
Memorial day gatherings and high school graduations are expected to occur, so Dick is also urging people to be safe. He said a well ventilated setting is ideal to avoid catching or spreading the virus.
