New COVID-19 deaths reported in Clark County as state toll hits 81

Eighty-one people in Nevada have died from COVID-19, Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Wednesday night, an increase of 10 from the previous day.

Eleven new deaths reported Wednesday by the Southern Nevada Health District brought the total in Clark County to 65. The latest Clark County fatalities reported by the health district apparently already were reflected in the 71 deaths statewide reported late Tuesday by the Nevada Health and Human Services Department.

Meanwhile, state data published Wednesday added 216 to the number of COVID-19 cases in Nevada, bringing the total of confirmed cases in the state to 2,318. That was the third straight triple-digit increase in the daily reports by the state on its nvhealthresponse.nv.gov website.

The website also showed just 80 total deaths statewide late Wednesday. Data from the state and from local health agencies are reported separately, and discrepancies are common.

The state caseload was derived from tests on 20,566 people, indicating an infection rate of 11.3 percent. That figure is likely inflated, however, since most of those tested are either seriously ill or are known contacts of previously diagnosed patients.

The Southern Nevada Health District also reported that the number of cases in the county of the disease caused by the new coronavirus had increased to 1,878, up from the 1,734 cases reported Tuesday.

The Washoe County Heath District reported three additional deaths from the disease, bringing the total number of deaths in the county to eight. It said in a news release that the victims were a woman in her 60s, a woman in her 80s and a man in his 70s, Both the younger woman and the man had underlying health conditions, but the district said it had not determined if the other victim did.

It also reported 17 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the county total to 326. Of those, 27 are currently hospitalized and 35 have been deemed recovered.

Briefing reporters Wednesday, county Health Officer Kevin Dick said 62 percent of the county’s acute care hospital beds were in use, along with 53 percent of its intensive care beds, and 24 percent of its ventilators.

“We do currently have capacity in our hospital system,” Dick said. But he added that the county continues to prepare for an expected surge “that may have the potential to overload our health care and our hospital system.”

Among those efforts, Renown Regional Medical Center in downtown Reno is turning part of a parking garage into hospital rooms, and an alternative care site is being set up at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center to free up hospital beds for COVID-19 patients.

State numbers on hospital beds showed 61 percent of all beds and 71 percent of ICU beds occupied as of Tuesday.

In other developments:

— A second worker at the Allegiant Stadium construction project in Las Vegas has tested positive for COVID-19, the joint-venture leading the venture said Wednesday. Mortenson-McCarthy said in a news release that the worker was not in close contact with other employees because of social distancing protocols and was on site for one week before leaving April 2, prior to experiencing symptoms of the disease caused by the new coronavirus. It said the area where the worker was assigned had been closed and sanitized that the work in other areas of the project was continuing. The worker was in self-isolation, it said.

— The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mesquite has increased to five, city officials said late Tuesday. The figure, reported on a municipal website, was up from two confirmed cases reported last week. The post did not provide any details on the cases.

— The College of Southern Nevada reported two new COVID-19 cases, one involving an instructor and the other a student. The school said the instructor was last at a CSN satellite facility on Water Street in Henderson on March 23, while the student was last on the Charleston campus on March 16. The new cases brought to six the total number reported by CSN.

Contact Mike Brunker at mbrunker@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4656. Follow @mike_brunker on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Bill Dentzer contributed to this report.