3 of Nevada’s 4 major COVID-19 metrics continue to decline

Nevada on Tuesday reported 3,193 new coronavirus cases and 19 deaths over the preceding four days as three of the state’s four major COVID-19 metrics continued to fall.

The numbers, which covered Friday through the Labor Day holiday, pushed totals posted online by the state Department of Health and Human Services to 397,788 cases and 6,604 deaths.

Despite the high numbers, both new COVID-19 cases and deaths were below the below their two-week moving averages when spread over four days. Those figures declined from 892 new cases per day to 882 and 14 deaths per day to 10.

The state’s two-week test positivity rate, which essentially tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, continued its recent descent, dropping 0.1 percentage point to 12.2 percent, according to state data.

The rate had been climbing steadily since hitting a recent low of 3.3 percent on June 9, but began retreating after rebounding to a recent high of 16.4 percent two weeks ago, according to state data. It has been dropping faster than other numbers like deaths and hospitalizations, which have registered only slight declines.

State officials said last week that regular testing protocols for schools and businesses, where people are tested consistently even if they don’t show any COVID-19 symptoms, could be causing that figure to drop quickly.

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

The state also reported that 1,181 people in Nevada were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, 48 more than the last report on Friday. That figure has been fluctuating daily, but is 136 patients lower than the recent high of 1,317 on Aug. 10.

On July 30, the state reinstituted a mask mandate in crowded indoor public spaces for counties that have “high or substantial” rates of transmission, about two weeks before the state’s numbers started to flatten and drop. That was especially true in Clark County, which has long accounted for a vast majority of the cases and deaths in the state.

State officials will update the mask guidance Wednesday afternoon, but as of last week 16 of the state’s 17 counties were under the mandate.

To reach the moderate category, a county must have a rate of under 50 cases per 100,000 population and a COVID-19 test positivity rate of 10 percent or less.

Clark County on Tuesday was at 196 cases per 100,000 people and had a test positivity rate of 10.41 percent, per CDC data based on a seven-day moving average. The state uses a two-week moving average to calculate the test positivity rate it reports daily, which is why the numbers don’t match.

Remembering those we’ve lost to COVID-19

As of Tuesday’s report, 52.68 percent of Nevadans 12 and older had been fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the Southern Nevada Health District reported 2,079 new coronavirus cases and 13 additional deaths on Tuesday in Clark County.

Totals in the county rose to 308,228 cases and 5,265 deaths.

The county’s two-week test positivity rate decreased by 0.3 percentage point to 10.5 percent.

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