The National Nuclear Security Administration had more than 300 new confirmed COVID-19 cases last week, including two more fatal cases, a spokesperson said Friday.
The semi-autonomous Department of Energy nuclear-weapons agency tracked 311 new confirmed cases among contractors and civil servants of the viral disease caused by the novel coronavirus that broke out in China about a year ago.
Two agency employees, one at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M., and one in at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., died from the disease this week, a National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) spokesperson at headquarters said in an email.
That makes seven fatal cases for the NNSA since the pandemic started: two at Y-12; two at the Los Alamos National Laboratory; one at Sandia; and two at the Nevada National Security Site.
As of Friday, 1,037 NNSA employees still had an active case, and 1,544 employees had recovered. The agency had tracked a total of 2,588 confirmed cases, at deadline.
After a brief respite last week, NNSA host regions this week saw another steep increase in cases. The surge, two weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday, coincides roughly with the disease’s incubation period, or the time it takes for someone who contracts the virus to begin showing symptoms.
Except for one, every city and county surrounding the eight major NNSA nuclear weapons sites saw many more new cases of COVID-19 this week than they did a week ago. Randall County, one of the two large counties near the Pantex Plant in Armarillo, Texas, was the lone exception.
New Mexico continued to have a rough time this week.The state’s most populous county, Bernalillo, this week recorded 1,350 more new cases than in the prior week. Albuquerque, and the Sandia National Laboratories’ main campus, are within the county.
Meanwhile in Tennessee, the sparsely populated Anderson County, which includes Oak Ridge and the Y-12 National Nuclear Security Complex, had around 250 more new cases this week than last week. Early in the pandemic, COVID-19’s rate of spread in this eastern Tennessee county was among the slowest at any NNSA host site.
National Laboratories Cases
Following are the reported numbers of confirmed COVID-19 cases at NNSA nuclear weapons laboratories, and increases relative to the prior week, as provided Friday by the labs.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory:
Cases: 121 (+24). Livermore is the only lab that does not test its own employees.
Los Alamos National Laboratory:
Cases: 246 (+81; 291 people who got sick recovered, while two died).
Internal tests: 10,847 (+677; a lab spokesperson said Friday these on-site tests have resulted in 145 positive results).
Teleworking: Roughly 80% of all employees. Los Alamos started scaling back on-site operations about two weeks ago, when a nationwide surge causes cases in New Mexico to soar.
Sandia National Laboratories:
Cases: 396 (+41)
Albuquerque: 370 (+37)
Livermore: 26 (+4)
Internal tests: 4,703 (+169)
Teleworking: Roughly 70% of all employees.
Cases in NNSA Host Regions
Following is Nuclear Security & Deterrence Monitor’s weekly digest of confirmed COVID-19 cases, including fatal cases, in the host cities, counties and states of NNSA nuclear weapons sites. The figures below are based on cumulative cases recorded since the first confirmed U.S. instance of COVID-19 in January.
Data come from a tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and from select states, counties, and cities, where noted.
The Monitor tracks weekly changes, using the latest data available at deadline, which is sometimes current as of the Wednesday or Thursday before publication.
Testing figures represent the number of tests performed, not the number of people tested.
Missouri – Kansas City National Security Campus
Kansas City
Total confirmed cases: 25,983
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 1,530
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +602
Fatal cases: 313 (+11 from the prior week, nine fewer new deaths this week than last week).
Missouri, Statewide:
Total cases: 342,418
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 22,745
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +9,206
Fatal cases: 4,544 (+386 from the prior week, 88 more new deaths this week than last week).
Testing rate and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 53,274 tests per 100,000 people (5% more people tested per 100,000 this week than last (↓), 14% more than three weeks ago(14%(↓)). Rank among NNSA host states: 5/7 — no change, compared with last week.
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 3,269,682 (+144,985 from last week (↑); +404,509 in three weeks (↑)).
New Mexico – NNSA Albuquerque, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Bernalillo County/Albuquerque:
Total confirmed cases: 32,581
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 3,874
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +1,361
Fatal cases: 408 (+50 from the prior week, 27 more new deaths this week than last week).
Los Alamos:
Total confirmed cases: 194
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 32
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +12
Fatal cases: 0 (No change from last week, and no confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the county, to date).
Surrounding Counties, Los Alamos (Rio Arriba, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Taos):
Total confirmed cases: 1,678/6,321/6,108/965 – 15,072 for the group
Cumulative week-to-week increase for group: 1,695
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week, for group: +584
Fatal cases for group: 195 (+16 from the prior week, for group; two more new deaths this week than last week, for group).
New Mexico, Statewide:
Total cases: 114,731
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 11,869
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +4,424
Fatal cases: 1,846 (+173 from the prior week, 40 more new deaths this week than last week).
Testing rate and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 80,725 tests per 100,000 people (5% more people tested per 100,000 this week than last (↑), 19% more than three weeks ago (↓)). Rank among NNSA host states: 1/7 (highest amount of tests per 100,000) — no change, compared with last week.
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 1,692,676 (+87,762 from last week(↑); +271,879 in three weeks (↓)).
Tennessee – Y-12 National Security Complex
Anderson County:
Total confirmed cases: 3,741
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 502
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +250
Fatal cases: 38 (+7 from the prior week, five more new deaths this week than last week).
Tennessee, Statewide:
Total cases: 428,973
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 40,721
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +26,962
Fatal cases: 5,240 (+459 from the prior week, 280 more new deaths this week than last week).
Testing rate and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 70,900 tests per 100,000 people (5% more people tested per 100,000 this week than last (↑), 15% more than three weeks ago (↓)). Rank among NNSA host states: 2/7 — no change, compared with last week.
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 4,841,914 (+216,253 from last week (↑); +623,282 in three weeks (↓)).
California – Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (and Sandia’s California campus)
Alameda County (Including Livermore, Calif.):
Total confirmed cases: 35,047
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 4,067
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +2,563
Fatal cases: 533 (+11 from the prior week, one more new death this week than last week).
San Joaquin County (near Alameda County):
Total confirmed cases: 30,816
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 3,733
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +2,392
Fatal cases: 535 (+13 from the prior week, seven fewer new deaths this week than last week).
California, Statewide:
Total cases: 1,488,167
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 197,392
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +128,639
Fatal cases: 20,643 (+1,048 from the prior week, 16,020 more new deaths this week than last week).
Testing rate and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 66,623 tests per 100,000 people (8% more people tested per 100,000 this week than last (↑), 22% more than three weeks ago (↓)). Rank among NNSA host states: 3/7 — no change, compared with last week.
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 26,324,332 (+1,849,690 from last week (↑); +4,771,804 in three weeks(↑)).
South Carolina – Savannah River Site
Aiken County:
Total confirmed cases: 7,171
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 597
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +429
Fatal cases: 109 (+9 from the prior week, seven more new deaths this week than last week).
South Carolina, Statewide:
Total cases: 241,686
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 18,623
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +13,047
Fatal cases: 4,627 (+161 from the prior week, 76 more new deaths this week than last week).
Testing rate and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 50,774 tests per 100,000 people (7% more people tested per 100,000 this week than last (↑); 21% more than three weeks ago (no change)). Rank among NNSA host states: 6/7 — no change, compared with last week.
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 2,614,236 (+165,136 from last week (↓); +452,109 in three weeks (↑)).
Texas – Pantex Plant
Potter County:
Total confirmed cases: 14,068
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 742
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +9
Fatal cases: 257 (+9 from the prior week, 63 fewer new deaths this week than last week).
Randall County:
Total confirmed cases: 12,475
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 835
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: -35
Fatal cases: 153 (+8 from the prior week, 29 fewer new deaths this week than last week).
Texas, Statewide:
Total cases: 1,374,256
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 87,278
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +226,667
Fatal cases: 23,897 (+1,324 from the prior week, 13,318 fewer new deaths this week than last week).
Testing rate and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 40,425 tests per 100,000 people (6% more people tested per 100,000 this week than last (↑); 21% more than three weeks ago (↓)). Rank among NNSA host states: 7/7 (lowest amount of tests per 100,000) — no change, compared with last week.
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 11,721,811 (+704,364 from last week (↑); +2,065,314 in three weeks (↑)).
Nevada – Nevada National Security Site
Nye County:
Total confirmed cases: 1,562
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 193
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +149
Fatal cases: 31 (+3 from the prior week, two new deaths this week than last week).
Clark County/Las Vegas:
Total confirmed cases: 135,296
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 13,433
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +7,916
Fatal cases: 1,935 (+118 from the prior week, 68 more new deaths this week than last week).
Nevada, Statewide:
Total cases: 178,527
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 18,995
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +11,631
Fatal cases: 2,434 (+184 from the prior week, 78 more new deaths this week than last week).
Testing rate and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 58,044 tests per 100,000 people (6% more people tested per 100,000 this week than last (↑); 21% more than three weeks ago (no change)). Rank among NNSA host states: 5/7 no change, compared with last week.
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 1,787,862 (+105,104 from last week (↑); +316,098 in three weeks(↑)).
Nationwide
Total cases: 15,618,685
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 1,469,357
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +777,323
Fatal cases: 292,192 (+15,786 from the prior week, 6,980 more new deaths this week than last).
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 213,015,816 (+15,606,050 from last week (↑). +39,296,552 in three weeks(↓)).
