Clark County records 496 new COVID-19 cases, 14 more deaths

Clark County recorded 496 new cases of COVID-19 and 14 additional deaths over the preceding day, according to data posted Thursday by the Southern Nevada Health District.

The numbers posted on the district’s coronavirus web page pushed the case total for the county to 20,622, while the fatalities brought the death toll to 468. The district estimates that 13,353 of those sickened by the disease caused by the new coronavirus have recovered.

New cases were well below the daily average of nearly 614 over the preceding week, while deaths were well above the daily average of nearly five over the period.

The jump in deaths coincided with a recent surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations, which increased by 38 in Thursday’s report. That was well above the daily average of just under 20 admissions over the preceding week.

The Nevada Hospital Association noted in an update that a “resurgence of COVID-19 continues throughout Nevada, with COVID-19 patients accounting for approximately 19 percent of all patients hospitalized and 27 percent of those individuals in an intensive care unit.”

The report noted that the state’s hospitals have sufficient capacity to treat cases from all causes, but noted that in Southern Nevada “some individual hospitals are experiencing near … capacity levels” in intensive care units, where “COVID-19 patients account for one-third of all intensive care utilization.”

Meanwhile, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported 603 new cases of COVID-19 and 18 additional deaths over the preceding day.

Interactive: Tracking the coronavirus’ impact on Nevada through data

Data posted to the agency’s nvhealthresponse.nv.gov website brought the case total for Nevada to 24,904 and the death toll to 571. (Reports from local health districts and counties place the case total higher, at 25,054 as of late Thursday.)

New cases were below the daily average of nearly 743 over the preceding week.

The jump in fatalities was the biggest one-day increase reported by the agency since it added 22 deaths on April 10. Reconfigured data, which redistributes cases and deaths to provide a more accurate picture of the outbreak in the state, shows the biggest previous one-day death toll as 14 on May 6.

The deaths reported Thursday also are likely to be redistributed by the agency over additional dates.

The state infection rate, considered a better indicator of the direction of the outbreak in Nevada, inched higher in Thursday’s report, a day after breaking a streak of 20 straight daily increases. The rate — the number of confirmed cases divided by the number of people tested — stood at 7.57 percent, up from 7.54 percent on Wednesday.

The rate declined steadily over several months before bottoming out at 5.20 percent on June 17 before beginning to climb.

Increased testing, the reopening of “nonessential businesses” in Nevada and the resumption of tourism are all believed to be factors in the increase.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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