3 of Clark County’s 4 key COVID-19 metrics increase, but new cases dip

Clark County on Wednesday reported 499 new coronavirus cases and 12 deaths during the previous day, as three of its four major COVID-19 metrics moved higher.

The update posted by the Southern Nevada Health District brought totals for the county to 351,241 cases and 6,346 deaths.

New cases were well above the two-week moving average, which nonetheless decreased by eight to 375 per day. Fatalities also were well above the two-week moving average in the county of five deaths per day, which increased by one from Tuesday’s update, according to state data.

The number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the county increased by 16, to 592.

The county’s 14-day test positivity rate, which tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, increased by 0.1 percentage point to 7.8 percent.

After declining for several months beginning in early to mid-August, the county’s major metrics for the disease caused by the new coronavirus began creeping higher in early November and have continued to rise through early December. State officials have said they expected to see increases with the arrival of the holiday season.

Despite the recent trend, levels of COVID-19 in the county remain well below those seen during the summer surge.

Local hospitalizations rising

The Nevada Hospital Association said in its weekly update Wednesday that Clark County is the only part of the state where COVID-19-related hospitalizations are currently increasing, but called the rise “moderate.”

Patient numbers remain well below peak levels and are not creating the same capacity issues that occurred earlier in the pandemic, the trade association said.

The biggest problem for the state’s hospitals remains staffing.

“COVID-19 has not resolved and hospitalizations continue to remain at approximately 600 with some daily fluctuations appreciated,” it said. “Staffing remains difficult. These difficulties are a national issue, not localized to Nevada.”

At the same time, it remains to be seen what impact the newly arrived omicron COVID-19 variant may have on the state outbreak.

Preliminary studies of the mutant, whose presence in Clark County was announced Tuesday by the health district, suggest it is more transmissible that other forms of the virus. But some suggest that infection by omicron may not produce serious cases as often as the dominant delta virus.

Omicron’s impact

Kevin Dick, district health officer for the Washoe County Health District, said Wednesday at a news briefing that at the very least he expects the variant to impact case levels in the state.

“I believe that once it’s here, we are going to see a rapid increase in new cases,” he said, a day after the state’s first omicron case involving a Clark County woman was announced. “We’re still learning about omicron, but that’s the indication so far in what other countries have experienced.”

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

The state Department of Health and Human Services, meanwhile, reported 622 new COVID-19 cases and 17 deaths during the preceding day. That brought totals for the state to 467,205 cases and 8,244 deaths.

Nevada’s 14-day moving average of new cases decreased to 489 per day from 501 on Tuesday. The two-week average for fatalities increased by one to eight per day.

State and county health agencies often redistribute 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.

Of the state’s other closely watched metrics, the two-week test positivity rate held steady at 7.5 percent, while the number of people in Nevada hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases rose to 702, 11 more than on Tuesday.

Washoe County passed two pandemic milestones this week, recording its 1,000th death on Tuesday and 70,000th case of the disease caused by the new coronavirus on Wednesday.

“It’s kind of hard to fathom that we’ve had that loss of life,” Dick said.

As of Wednesday’s report, state data show that 53.59 percent of eligible Nevadans 5 and older had been fully vaccinated, compared with 52.87 percent in Clark County. That number fluctuates widely throughout the state.

Carson City had the state’s highest vaccination rate, at 62.30 percent, as of Wednesday, while Storey County was the lowest at 20.22 percent.

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