COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, positivity rate dip in Clark County

Clark County on Wednesday reported 430 new coronavirus cases and 10 deaths as most county metrics registered slight declines.

Updated figures posted by the Southern Nevada Health District pushed totals in the county to 339,123 cases and 6,096 deaths.

New cases were above the two-week moving average of 305 per day. The longer term rate declined again, however, dipping slightly from 309 on Tuesday. The two-week moving average of daily fatalities in the county was unchanged at four.

The number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the county decreased by seven, to 562, according to data from the state Department of Health and Human Services.

The county’s 14-day test positivity rate, which tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, held steady at 6.9 percent. That’s more than a full point higher than its recent low of 5.8 percent on Nov. 1.

After falling fairly steadily since mid- to late August, new cases, hospitalizations and the positivity rate have risen somewhat since the beginning of November. But state and local health officials say it’s not yet clear whether the county and state are in the early stages of another surge of the disease.

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

The state, meanwhile, reported 670 new COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths during the preceding day. That brought totals posted for the Silver State to 450,856 cases and 7,883 deaths.

Nevada’s 14-day moving average of new cases decreased to 467 per day from 475 on Tuesday. The two-week average for fatalities was unchanged at seven 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 7.6 percent, while the number of people in Nevada hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases fell to 706, 19 fewer than on Tuesday.

As of Wednesday’s report, state data show that 57.06 percent of Nevadans 12 and older had been fully vaccinated, compared with 56.36 percent in Clark County. That number fluctuates widely throughout the state.

Washoe County has the state’s highest vaccination rate, at 66.00 percent, while Storey County has the lowest at 20.25 percent.

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