Nevada adds 1,878 new COVID-19 cases, 40 deaths

Nevada on Friday reported 1,878 new coronavirus cases and 40 additional deaths over the preceding day, according to state data.

Updated figures posted to the Department of Health and Human Services’ website brought totals in the state to 258,050 cases of COVID-19 and 3,698 deaths from the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

New cases were higher than the 14-day moving daily average of 1,701, state data shows. The moving two-week average of daily reported deaths was unchanged at 21.

The state data shows that the two-week daily average of deaths has been declining steadily since it reached a high of 36 on Dec. 22. The state redistributes data after daily total announcements to better reflect the date of death, which at times causes the trendlines to diverge from daily reports.

However, this week has already seen the second-highest number of reported coronavirus deaths, according to state data. There have been 248 reported deaths since Sunday. Last week, which had the most recorded deaths, saw 299 fatalities.

New cases also have been ebbing since Jan. 9, even as the state’s two-week positivity rate, which essentially tracks the percentage of people tested who are diagnosed with the disease, has been rising. The rate remained unchanged at 21.6 percent on Friday.

As of Friday, there are 1,676 people in Nevada who are hospitalized with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases, a decrease of 70 from the previous day, state data shows. It was the third day in a row that the number of hospitalizations decreased.

According to data from the Nevada Hospital Association, 73 percent of adult intensive care beds in the state are occupied, and 40 percent of all ICU patients in the state are hospitalized for COVID-19. In Southern Nevada, 81 percent of the region’s ICU beds are full, and 47 percent of all intensive care hospitalizations are for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Clark County reported 1,518 new coronavirus cases and 33 additional deaths, according to the Southern Nevada Health District’s coronavirus website. The updated figures, which are reflected in the state totals, brought totals in the county to 197,652 cases and 2,795 deaths.

The number of Department of Corrections’ prisoners reported to have died of the coronavirus is now four times higher than it was at this point last week, state data shows. There were eight reported deaths on Jan. 7, which grew to 40 as of Thursday. There were no additional deaths reported on Friday.

A spokesman for Gov. Steve Sisolak’s COVID-19 response team said Friday that the increase is partly due to reporting delays from the prison system.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.