Clark County records 488 new COVID-19 cases, 2 more deaths

Clark County recorded 488 new cases of COVID-19 and two additional deaths over the preceding day, according to data posted Tuesday by the Southern Nevada Health District.

The new figures posted on the district’s coronavirus website increased total cases in the county to 15,095 and the death toll to 416. The district estimates that 9,330 of those who contracted the disease caused by the new coronavirus have recovered.

New cases were lower than the totals for the past three days — two of which were inflated due to delays in reporting, according to the district — as the number of new infections has surged.

But they were below the daily average of just under 548 for the preceding week and well above the daily average of just under 280 for the week ending June 21.

Fatalities matched the daily average of two for the preceding week.

The district also reported 21 new hospitalizations over the preceding 24 hours. That was above the daily average of 16 over the period.

The Nevada Hospital Association reported Tuesday that hospitalizations have rebounded since mid-June and said that 593 patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases were receiving care in its facilities as of Monday.

The report noted, however, that Southern Nevada hospitals have considerable capacity, with 77 percent of available beds and 83 percent of intensive care unit beds occupied. It also noted that COVID-19 patients account for only 13 percent of all hospital admissions and 21 percent of all occupied intensive care beds.

The state Department of Health and Human Services recorded 562 new COVID-19 cases and three additional deaths over the preceding day, according to data posted on the department’s nvhealthresponse.nv.gov website

The new figures posted on the department’s nvhealthresponse.nv.gov website pushed the total confirmed cases in the state to 18,456 and raised the death toll to 507. (Reports from local health districts and county agencies put the case total slightly higher than the state figure, at 18,595 as of Tuesday night.)

New cases were below the daily average of just over 631 for the preceding week, while the fatalities were a bit higher than the daily average of just over two for the period.

Officials leading Nevada’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak also released more details Tuesday on what’s driving the current surge of cases in the state, saying that the top risk factors for infection are people visiting indoor public venues and not heeding guidelines on social distancing and face coverings.

Both the health district and the state reapportion cases and deaths after they are announced to better reflect when they occurred, so detailed breakdowns they produce often don’t match the totals announced daily.

Contact Mike Brunker at mbrunker@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4656. Follow @mike_brunker on Twitter.