Nevada COVID metrics flatten as surge in north erases southern gains

Updated numbers posted by the Department of Health and Human Services on the state’s coronavirus website pushed totals to 393,188 cases and 6,565 deaths.

New cases were above the two-week moving average, which increased from 893 to 899. That is still well below the rate’s recent high of 1,120 on Aug. 17, reflecting a slow but steady decline in the metric since.

Deaths also were well above the average of 14 per day over the period, unchanged from the previous day. The average also has been declining from its recent high of 17 per day on Aug. 18.

State and county health agencies often redistribute the daily data after it is reported to better reflect the date of death or onset of symptoms, which is why the moving-average trend lines frequently differ from daily reports and are considered better indicators of the direction of the outbreak.

The number of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state decreased by 30 from 1,156 to 1,126. That figure has fluctuated recently, but it remains lower than the peak levels reported a few weeks ago.

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

The state’s two-week test positivity rate, which essentially tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, continued to edge lower on Thursday, declining 0.1 percentage point to 12.2 percent.

The rate, which began rising steadily after hitting a recent low of 3.3 percent June 9, has dropped more than 4 percentage points from its recent peak of 16.4 percent on Aug. 13.

The majority of the new cases were again reported outside Clark County, indicating that the county has already likely reached its peak of the current fourth wave. Washoe County, which has seen numbers increasing in recent weeks, logged a 14-day test positivity rate of 18.8 percent on Thursday, significantly higher than the peak of the state’s current wave.

Nye County also has experienced a spike in new cases recently. Its test positivity rate as of Thursday stood at 27 percent. Just 38.06 percent of people 12 and older have been fully vaccinated in the county, well below the state’s rate of 52.08 percent.

Michelle White, chief of staff to Gov. Steve Sisolak, said the counties with higher vaccination rates and consistent adherence to mask guidelines have seen a drop in cases.

“That’s the answer as to why we’re seeing a higher positivity rate, a significant number of cases and spread and transmission throughout the county, in addition to a lack of adherence to masking,” she said.

Clark County recorded 545 new COVID-19 cases and 18 deaths over, according to data posted Thursday by the Southern Nevada Health District on its coronavirus web page. That brought county totals to 305,401 cases and 5,237 deaths.

Candice McDaniel, deputy director of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, said Thursday that though the numbers in Clark County appear to be going down, state officials are concerned about the current wave.

“Our test positivity is still relatively high,” she said. “When we look at what the CDC really promotes, it’s a test positivity of around 5 percent. When you look at it that way, I think we still have a lot of work to do, although the gains that we have been able to make are incredible as well.”

Clark County’s two-week test positivity rate decreased by 0.2 percentage point to 10.8 percent.

A previous version of this article contained an incorrect cumulative death toll for the state.

Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.