New COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations edge higher in mixed report

Clark County’s major COVID-19 metrics showed mixed signals on Wednesday, with new cases and hospitalizations climbing, deaths remaining flat and the test positivity rate dipping slightly.

The county reported 469 new cases and 12 deaths, bringing cumulative totals posted by the Southern Nevada Health District to 330,709 cases and 5,947 deaths.

New cases were more than twice the two-week moving average of 289 per day, which was up from 285 on Tuesday. The two-week moving average of daily fatalities in the county was unchanged at five.

The number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the county increased by 24, to 435, 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, fell by 0.1 percentage point to 6.0 percent.

All four key COVID-19 metrics in the county have been falling fairly steadily since mid- to late-August and are well below the levels seen during the summer surge of the disease in the state.

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

The state, meanwhile, reported 669 new COVID-19 cases and 23 deaths over the preceding day. That brought totals to 437,569 cases and 7,600 deaths.

Nevada’s 14-day moving average of new cases increased to 470 per day from 465 on Tuesday. The two-week average for fatalities held steady at nine 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 state’s two-week test positivity rate declined 0.1 percentage points to 6.8 percent, while the number of people in Nevada hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases fell to 622, two fewer than on Tuesday.

As of Wednesday’s report, state data show that 55.98 percent of Nevadans 12 and older had been fully vaccinated, compared to 55.24 percent in Clark County. That number fluctuates widely throughout the state.

Washoe County has the state’s highest vaccination rate, at 65.07 percent, while Storey County has the lowest at 19.99 percent. Storey County has not reported any new vaccinations in at least a week.

While Washoe County has made significant progress in terms of overall vaccination numbers, the county still has an above-average test positivity rate of 9.8 percent. Kevin Dick, district health officer for the Washoe County Health District, continued to beat the vaccination drum at a Wednesday news conference.

“What we need is for people to look at the facts and to get them from reputable sources and recognize that the vaccine is really just about a miracle that’s been able to be developed based on our scientific and technological advances we’ve had over the last decade,” he said. “It’s available and it will prevent people from becoming seriously ill and from dying.”

Storey County also has the highest current test positivity rate in the state, at 39.1 percent, more than double the rate of any other county in the state. It also has the state’s lowest vaccination rate, with 19.99 percent of eligible residents fully vaccinated, according to state data.

Statewide, 55.98 percent of eligible Nevadans 12 and up were fully vaccinated as of Wednesday’s report. In Clark County, the figures was 52.24 percent.

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