Clark County COVID-19 cases surge for second day, topping 5K

Clark County saw a second straight triple-digit increase in new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total in the county to 5,045, according to data posted Wednesday by the Southern Nevada Health District.

The public health agency also reported seven additional fatalities from the disease caused by the new coronavirus, pushing the county death toll to 275.

The 176 new cases of the disease reported by the health district followed an increase of 107 cases reported Tuesday. That was more than double the daily increase of nearly 67 cases during the preceding week.

The district estimates that 4,221 of those patients, or nearly 84 percent, have recovered.

The number of fatalities was slightly above the average of nearly six a day over the same period.

The number of new hospitalizations in the county also has ticked higher in the past two days. The health district reported 24 new hospitalizations for the day preceding its report on Wednesday, and 26 the preceding day. Both figures were considerably higher than the average of just over 11 new hospitalizations for the preceding five days.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported 83 new COVID-19 cases in Nevada, raising the total to 6,394. Reports from local health districts place the total higher, at 6,478 cases, because of differences in reporting cycles.

The cases reported by the state were derived from tests on 66,672 people, reflecting a 9.6 percent rate of infection. That rate has been trending downward for several weeks, even as the number of cases has surged in the county.

The state also reported 10 new fatalities attributed to the disease since Monday, raising the state death toll to 331. Agency statisticians regularly redistribute those cases over preceding days to reflect the date that the victim died, so Wednesday’s breakdown shows only an increase of one death overnight.

Increases in testing for COVID-19 appeared to play a role in the surge of cases in Clark County, as the state reported conducting a record 3,944 tests over the preceding 24 hours in Tuesday’s report. The number of new tests reported Wednesday also was on the high end of the daily range, with 2,821 tests administered.

INFOGRAPHIC: The impact of COVID-19 in Nevada, by the numbers

Asked about the increases at a news briefing Wednesday, Dr. Fermin Leguen, the heath district’s acting chief health officer, noted that public health experts predicted that case numbers would climb as testing for the disease grew more widespread, well before the governor eased his emergency closure of nonessential businesses.

The experts are instead paying close attention to the infection rate of those who tested for coronavirus infection as well as hospitalization and death numbers to see if there are signs of a rekindling of the disease.

In other developments Wednesday:

■ Public health officials in Washoe County reported 16 new cases of COVID-19 and three additional deaths. The cases pushed the county total to 1,132, of whom 562 have recovered, according to the Regional Information Center. The deaths, of a man in his 50s and two men in their 70s, placed the county death toll at 43. The center said two of the latest victims had underlying health conditions and investigators were attempting to determine if the other victim did as well.

■ Public health officials in Carson City reported one additional case of COVID-19, increasing the total in the Quad-County region — Carson City and Douglas, Lyon and Storey counties — to 128. The new case was a man in his 60s. The Emergency Operations Center also has reported 86 recoveries and two deaths.

■ Nye County officials reported three new COVID-19 cases — two in Pahrump and one in Amargosa Valley.

■ The number of COVID-19 cases reported among Nevada inmates — zero — was questioned in a study released Wednesday by The Associated Press and The Marshall Project, which showed that the state has tested the fourth-lowest percentage of inmates of the 39 states that have reported overall testing information. Of those states, nine have tested fewer overall inmates than the 56 tested in Nevada, it said.

■ The number of employees of the Metropolitan Police Department with confirmed cases of COVID-19 now stands at 27, according to the agency’s website. It said more than 200 employees have been tested, with 175 testing negative and seven awaiting results.

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. Review-Journal staff writer Katelyn Newberg contributed to this report.