Interview: Gov. Steve Sisolak on COVID-19 and Nevada's economic outlook

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The problems of the coronavirus pandemic are a daily, ever-changing challenge for state government. To keep up, Gov. Steve Sisolak said he's had to learn to be fast on his feet.

"You do have to live by the seat of your pants," he said in a one-on-one interview with 13 Action News anchor Dave Courvoisier.

The battle against COVID-19 requires a steady stream of information: reports from scientists, doctors, analysts — and regular people, too. Sisolak says he's update continuously, especially with the omicron variant's fast spread through Nevada communities.

Omicron has been more contagious than previous variants of the virus, but often less severe. Still, it's overwhelmed hospitals — something the governor says he keeps a close eye on.

Long term, Sisolak says he's most worried about jobs. He acknowledges there is a disconnect.

"Part of the problem is we've got, you know, 50,000, 60,000 people in need of a job and we've got 100,000 job openings, but you can't get them together," Sisolak said. "I understand that they're going to have to change your job path, their career path, and I think once they do that, it's going to be a lot better."

The governor underscored that we all continue to err on the side of caution out in public, and that more help is on the way.

"The best thing I can do is we're going to start distributing almost 600,000 at-home test kits in the next week or so, which is exciting," he said. "You're going to see a lot more information coming out about that. My office if going to be putting it out."

Gov. Sisolak's COVID-19 update: Nevada orders 588K at-home tests to 'stop the spread'

Since more testing sites have opened up, the lines are shorter, and Sisolak encourages everyone to get tested if they think they've been exposed to COVID-19.