Which ZIP codes have highest COVID cases in the Las Vegas Valley?
Since the state reopened businesses in early June, summer surge cases of COVID-19 have been concentrated in the south and northwest Las Vegas Valley, according to the latest data.
For example, ZIP code 89148 has had more than 700 cases since June 1. The area is home to the Rhodes Ranch community.
Health data shows the trend is occurring as Nevada reports one of the nation’s highest rate of new cases per capita, more of which are being attributed to the highly-contagious delta variant first identified in India.
The delta strain now accounts for 74 percent of Nevada’s cases genetically analyzed by the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory in the past two weeks, indicating it is now the most widespread strain in the state. On July 2, the strain accounted for nearly half of the new cases.
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The suburban case increases this summer have bucked trends experienced in winter.
At that time, COVID-19 had its strongest grip in North Las Vegas and eastern Las Vegas, home to many low-wage essential workers. Those same communities saw relatively few new cases this June despite having lower vaccination rates, data shows.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is visiting Las Vegas today to discuss the role that federal teams will play in combating a surge in COVID-19 cases in the state.