Even with the slight decline we have seen in the positivity rate, the Truckee Meadows COVID Risk Meter remains in the "very high" range, and just one point away from the "severe" range.

The Truckee Meadows COVID Risk Meter is designed to give Northern Nevada a better idea of the coronavirus hospitalizations and spread in our community, and has been in the "very high" range of 10-13 since late October.

"The COVID Risk Meter remains in the 'very high' position for the week. We saw some improvements last week, we got excited, but it's right back up there," said Reno City Council Member Naomi Duerr.

The score uses five different indicators and even though we are seeing a leveling out in test positivity and daily new cases, other indicators like hospital capacity and medical interventions keeps the score in the red.

"The total COVID hospitalizations is at an all-time high right now, over 400 in the hospital in the north region," said Dr. Jeremy Smith, Executive Director for the Truckee Meadows Regional Planning Agency.

“Hospitalization and ICU bed use seems to be increasing at a fast pace, butting tremendous strain on the health care system,” said Dr. Aditya Nair, Assistant Professor for Aerospace Engineering at UNR.

This is not only because more people need medical intervention for severe cases of the virus but also because of existing patients, as doctors warn that COVID-19 patients take much longer to get well enough to be discharged than those suffering from other illnesses.

“Even though the number of people coming in has lessened, it's still too high. It's still putting too much burden, and so the hospitals are still feeling incredibly stressed," said Dr. John Hess with Saint Mary’s Medical Group.

Right now, we are in the second of three steps hospitals are taking for capacity called sofa scoring. It measures things like vital signs and organ functions to produce a survivability score. If capacity decreases, hospitals will have to go onto using those scores to see who the resources will go to.

“Based on your ranking, you would either get invasive care, an ICU bed or ventilator versus comfort care only," said Dr. Hess.

Officials warn that the next two weeks are critical and to limit your contact with as many people as you can.

“Vaccines will have no impact on the month of January, it's all about our individual behavior in the month of January," said Dr. Hess.

“I think that the biggest gift you can give someone is the gift of health and security,” said Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve.

You can check out the Truckee Meadows COVID Risk Meter yourself here: https://tmrpa.org/covid-wc/