COVID-19 cases at a standstill as other Clark County metrics improve

Three of Clark County’s four main COVID-19 metrics improved this week, but the steady decline of new cases of the disease since mid-August slowed to a near standstill, local and state data show.

The state Health and Human Services Department did not post updated COVID-19 statistics on Friday, apparently due to the Nevada Day holiday, so the picture for the week is not complete. But as of Thursday, it showed week-over-week improvements in the county’s COVID-19 deaths (down nearly 17 percent), test positivity rate (down 4.6 percent), and hospitalizations (down by 40 occupied beds).

New cases of the disease caused by the new coronavirus, however, remained virtually flat for the week. The 14-day moving average as of Thursday stood at 294 per day, down just one from the end of last week, state data shows. That stood in sharp contrast to early October, when the index dropped by an average of 24 new cases per day each week.

All of the county’s metrics have improved dramatically since mid- to late-August, and the stall in new cases could be short-lived, as was a similar slowdown in the decline of the county’s test positivity rate during the first three weeks of the month. But for now, it means that the county ended the week farther away from exiting the state’s face mask mandate for indoor public spaces.

To do so, it must register back-to-back weeks where the seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases remains at 50 per 100,000 residents or lower. As of Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website showed the county’s rate as 109.59 per 100,00, up from 103.23 per 100,000 a week ago.

The Southern Nevada Health District did not take Nevada Day off and provided a daily update that showed 479 new COVID-19 cases and 11 additional deaths in Clark County during the preceding day.

The updated figures pushed county totals to 331,586 cases and 5,974 deaths since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. The number of new COVID-19 cases was the highest single-day total reported by the district since Oct. 6, when it tallied 529, and was well above the two-week moving average.

Deaths were more than twice the two-week moving average of five per day as of Thursday.

Moving averages could not be calculated through Friday because of the lack of current state data.

The health district also updated its reporting on so-called breakthrough cases among fully vaccinated people on Thursday, showing a total of 11,104 cases reported in the county. That was an increase of 503 cases compared to the previous week’s report.

The virus has killed 183 fully vaccinated people in Clark County, including 13 in the past week.

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

The COVID-19 breakthrough cases reported in Clark County represent just over 3 percent of the county total, a percentage that has been climbing in recent weeks.

Only about 2 percent of breakthrough infections have landed people in the hospital, and three in four hospitalizations are among those 65 or older, many of whom have underlying health conditions.

Public health experts say that breakthrough cases are expected and the data clearly shows that vaccination is effective in preventing serious complications from the disease.

“Given the large number of people being vaccinated in the United States and the high level of ongoing (COVID-19) circulation, thousands of symptomatic vaccine breakthrough cases are expected, even if the vaccines remain as effective as demonstrated during the clinical trials,” the health district said in its weekly report.

Health and elected officials maintain that vaccination is a crucial component to get out of the pandemic. About 65 percent of the Clark County population over the age of 12 had received at least one jab, while 55.26 percent were fully vaccinated as of Thursday, according to state data. That figure stood at 56.01 percent statewide.

Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickytwrites.