New infections eclipsed recoveries this week across the National Nuclear Security Administration’s labs, plants and sites, where there were 41 more active COVID-19 cases than in the prior week, an agency spokesperson said Friday.
The agency discloses only confirmed cases of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus that broke out in Wuhan, China, late last year. At deadline, the agency had tracked 794 confirmed cases among its contractors and civil servants since the disease was confirmed to have reached U.S. shores in January, up 71 since the prior week. Thirty employees recovered from their bouts this week, the spokesperson said.
Two National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) employees have died from COVID-19 since the U.S. outbreak started: one who worked at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tenn., another who worked at the Nevada National Security Site.
The NNSA’s nuclear weapons laboratories all have half their personnel or more working from home, while the three production sites — the Kansas City National Security Campus in Missouri, the Pantex Plant in Texas and Y-12 — still run their usual three-shift schedule, with telework available for those who can do their jobs that way.
This week, production site host locales saw notable upticks in new cases.
Missouri saw a sharp increase in new COVID-19 infections this week, and the Kansas City Area reflected that, recording nearly 1,000 more new, confirmed cases of the disease than in the prior week. Testing rates also increased sharply in Missouri, week to week.
Potter and Randall counties in Texas, near the Pantex Plant, had an aggregate 800 fewer new cases this week than last, but that mostly reflects a major surge last week that was Potter’s biggest in months. Randall County still had almost 100 more new cases this week than last week. Potter had almost 900 fewer new cases than in the prior week.
Cases also climbed in Tennessee, which had more than 2,000 new COVID-19 diagnoses this week than last week. Anderson County, site of Y-12 and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, had 17 more new cases this week than the week before.
Meanwhile, New Mexico, home to the Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories, also saw a bit of a statewide surge this week. The state logged around 650 more news cases this week than last, almost half of which were in Albuquerque and surrounding Bernalilo county. Four locales surrounding Los Alamos also saw an aggregate increase in the rate of new cases, driven by Santa Fe and Sandoval County. The former had 50 more new cases this week than last, the latter had 24 more new cases than in the prior week.
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 reported Friday by the labs.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory:
Cases: 59 (+1). Livermore is the only lab that does not test its own employees.
Los Alamos National Laboratory:
Cases: 65 (+3)
Internal tests: 6,419 (+383. Of these tests, only nine were positive, a lab spokesperson said Friday)
Teleworking: Roughly 55% of all employees.
Sandia National Laboratories:
Did not reply to requests for comment by deadline.
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 and counties 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: 12,623
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 1,347
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +980
Fatal cases: 149 (+22 from the prior week, two more new deaths this week than last).
Missouri, Statewide:
Total cases: 138,987
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 12,081
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +4,736
Fatal cases: 2,268 (+194 from the prior week, 71 more new deaths this week than last).
Testing Rate: 32,251 tests per 100,000 people (50% more people tested per 100,000 this week than last, 68% more than three weeks ago). Rank among NNSA host states: 4/7 — +3, compared with last week.
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 1,979,390 (+663,972 from last week (↑); +800,809 in three weeks (↑)).
New Mexico – NNSA Albuquerque, Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Bernalillo County/Albuquerque:
Total confirmed cases: 7,286
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 626
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +293
Fatal cases: 180 (+2 from the prior week, two fewer new deaths this week than last).
Los Alamos:
Total confirmed cases: 36
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 3
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +2
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: 410/1,455/1,144/151 – 3,160 for the group
Cumulative week-to-week increase for group: 199
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week, for group: +65
Fatal cases for group: 67 (+0 from the prior week, for group; three fewer new deaths this week than last, for group).
New Mexico, Statewide:
Total cases: 31,756
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 2,095
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: -658
Fatal cases: 899 (+17 from the prior week, six fewer new deaths this week than last).
Testing rate (tests per 100,000 people): Testing Rate: 46,037. Rank among NNSA host states: 1/7 (highest amount of tests per 100,000) — no change.
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 965,319 (+44,310 from last week(↑); +127,919 in three weeks (↑)).
Tennessee – Y-12 National Security Complex
Anderson County:
Total confirmed cases: 1,350
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 107
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +17
Fatal cases: 13 (+0 from the prior week, one fewer new death this week than last week).
Tennessee, Statewide:
Total cases: 209,447
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 12,015
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +2,273
Fatal cases: 2,705 (+204 from the prior week, 15 more new deaths this week than last).
Testing rate (tests per 100,000 people): 45,244. Rank among NNSA host states: 2/7 — no change.
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 3,089,853 (+187,121 from last week (↑); +524,974 in three weeks (↑)).
California – Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (including Sandia’s California campus)
Alameda County (Including Livermore, Calif.):
Total confirmed cases: 21,938
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 480
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: -27
Fatal cases: 440 (+20 from the prior week, three fewer new deaths this week than last).
San Jaoquin County (near Alameda County):
Total confirmed cases: 20,828
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 371
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +40
Fatal cases: 473 (+7 from the prior week, 22 fewer new deaths this week than last).
California, Statewide:
Total cases: 846,016
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 23,241
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +810
Fatal cases: 16,436 (+444 from the prior week, 137 fewer new deaths this week than last).
Testing rate (tests per 100,000 people): 39,541. Rank among NNSA host states: 3/7 — no change
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 15,623,623 (+851,772 from last week (↑); +2,543,586 in three weeks(↑)).
South Carolina – Savannah River Site
Aiken County:
Total confirmed cases: 4,462
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 172
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: -65
Fatal cases: 85 (+3 from the prior week, same amount of new deaths this week as last).
Savannah River Site:
Total confirmed cases: 569
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 24
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +7
Fatal cases: 1 (no change).
Active cases: 36.
South Carolina, Statewide:
Total cases: 154,755
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 6,432
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +816
Fatal cases: 3,514 (+114 from the prior week, seven fewer new deaths this week than last week).
Testing rate and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 27,786 tests per 100,000 people (9% more people tested per 100,000 this week than last (no change); 32% more than three weeks ago (↑)). Rank among NNSA host states: 5/7 — -1.
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 1,430,639 (+114,185 from last week (↑); +343,052 in three weeks (↑)).
Texas – Pantex Plant
Potter County:
Total confirmed cases: 6,500
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 428
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: -899
Fatal cases: 76 (+5 from the prior week, three fewer new deaths this week than last).
Randall County:
Total confirmed cases: 3,575
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 440
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +99
Fatal cases: 48 (+6 from the prior week, four more new deaths this week than last).
Texas, Statewide:
Total cases: 807,806
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 31,070
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +1,700
Fatal cases: 16,767 (+637 from the prior week, 17 more new deaths this week than last).
Testing rate and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 23,117 tests per 100,000 people (7% more people tested per 100,000 this week than last (no change); 25% more than three weeks ago (↑)). Rank among NNSA host states: 7/7 — -1.
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 6,703,106 (+420,777 from last week (↓); +1,357,930 in three weeks (↑)).
Nevada – Nevada National Security Site
Nye County:
Total confirmed cases: 527
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 12
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: -3
Fatal cases: 15 (+0 from the prior week, same amount of new deaths this week as last).
Clark County/Las Vegas:
Total confirmed cases: 70,121
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 2,622
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +298
Fatal cases: 1,431 (+37 from the prior week, 3 more new deaths this week than last).
Nevada, Statewide:
Total cases: 83,827
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 3,417
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +204
Fatal cases: 1,649 (+46 from the prior week, seven more new deaths this week than last).
Testing rate and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 23,117 tests per 100,000 people (7% more people tested per 100,000 this week than last (↑); 25% more than three weeks ago (↑)). Rank among NNSA host states: 6/7 — -1.
Cumulative tests performed as of this week, and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 724,198 (+22,641 from last week (↑); +71,615 in three weeks(↑)).
Nationwide
Total cases: 7,611,772
Cumulative week-to-week increase: 332,707
Growth (+), or decline (-), in new confirmed cases, compared with prior week: +36,047
Fatal cases: 212,840 (+5,024 from the prior week, 94 more new deaths this week than last).
Cumulative tests performed as of this week and trend versus last week (↑ or ↓): 112,117,737 (+7,272,109 from last week (↑); +20,571,139 in three weeks(↑)).
