LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Governor Steve Sisolak said Nevadans will hear from him very soon on what the next steps will be to slow the spread of COVID-19, which he referred to as a “wildfire” spread.

He said he is currently analyzing the data on the spread of coronavirus and hopes to see numbers level off next week following his announcement last week of “Stay at Home 2.0,” urging Nevadans to stay at home, as much as possible, for a two-week period.

“We must contend with the reality we are facing,” he said. “This is something very serious, and we have to gather as much information as we possibly can.”

Sisolak and his team have gathered information and input from different stakeholders to see what steps need to be taken moving forward. He says many factors are being considered, adding it’s a balancing act between public health and the economy.

“You gotta manage everything. You gotta manage the physical health and wellbeing; you have to manage the mental health of people,” the governor said. “There’s an economic situation, in terms of people’s jobs. Those are things that are all part of the mix that we’ll have to use to come up with our decision on how to move forward. This isn’t a matter of waiting or rushing, it’s a matter of doing the best we can.”

Sisolak would like to avoid an economic shutdown and protect jobs.

“It’s a difficult situation, trying to protect our economy and the jobs. We’re doing everything we can. I’m encouraging our locals to practice the best protocols we can. At the same time, I don’t want to shut down the entire economy, if I can avoid it.”

The governor took part in Wednesday’s Nevada COVID-19 response team call with the media. Also on the call was Caleb Cage, Nevada COVID-19 Response director, and Julia Peek, deputy administrator of community health services.

“Currently, strategies are not minimizing the spread of the disease,” Cage said.

On Wednesday, the state reported 1,246 hospitalizations in a 24-hour period, making it the highest number ever reported.

Nevada Health Response says it’s important to keep in mind that cases reported today were potentially exposed to the virus a week ago, or longer. So, the state should start seeing trends decline as data comes in during the Stay at Home 2.0 period.

Sisolak says this will only work if the community follows the guidelines in place.

“There’s a light at the end of the tunnel, as far as I’m concerned, and I’m hopeful we can just continue to push through this and press forward as a vaccine becomes available. And we can attempt to vaccinate as many of our residents as we possibly can, and things will start improving as we head into next year.”

8 News Now asked the governor if we can expect another shutdown. He says at this point, they are still analyzing data and waiting on updated information from local counties. He does plan to provide another update on those next steps in the near future.

As for the seriousness of Sisolak’s COVID diagnosis, he called his case mild and said he has not had to have oxygen. He will stay in home isolation until early next week, as recommended by health experts.

He also added his daughters and wife have tested negative.