An official from the Washoe County Health District said the county doesn’t have adequate staffing to respond to a possible outbreak of coronavirus, or COVID-19.
County Director of Epidemiology Dr. Randall Todd said the health district is putting all of its resources into preventing an outbreak at the moment.
"We would probably just have to put out a notice publicly that we're hiring,” Todd said. “I would think that the money would come from the federal government."
Nevada has some of the lowest public health funding in the country. In 2018, the state spent an average of $8 per person, according to an analysis from the University of Minnesota. That's 50th out of all states, plus the District of Columbia.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the best way to prevent the spread of the virus is to thoroughly wash your hands, cover your coughs or sneezes, and avoid touching your eyes and mouth. At the moment, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nevada.
