Clark County records 109 new COVID-19 cases, 4 additional deaths

Clark County recorded 109 new cases of COVID-19 and four additional deaths over the preceding day, according to data posted Monday by the Southern Nevada Health District.

The new figures brought the total cases reported in the county to 7,592 and the death toll to 363.

The number of new cases was below the daily average of 118 over the preceding week, while the fatalities were below the daily average of nearly 5½ over the period.

The district estimates that 5,864 patients who contracted the disease caused by the new coronavirus have recovered.

The hospitalization rate, considered by public health experts to be a better indicator of the trend of the outbreak in the county, continued to decline, dipping to 17.32 percent as of Monday’s report. The rate, which does not include deaths, reached a peak of 27.50 percent on April 10 and has been declining since.

Epidemiologist redistribute the latest reported cases and deaths to different dates in an effort to better capture the status of the outbreak in the county, so the totals announced daily generally don’t match the details breakdowns provided by the health district.

A supplemental report from the health district that provides details on recoveries and the hospitalization rate was not immediately available.

Interactive: Coronavirus impact on Nevada explained through data

Meanwhile, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported 137 new cases of COVID-19 and four additional deaths across Nevada.

The update brought total cases in the state to 9,786, while the fatalities brought the death toll to 442.

Reports from local health districts and other county agencies place the case total somewhat higher, at 9,818 as of Monday evening. Such discrepancies are common due to varying reporting cycles by the state and local agencies. There have been an estimated 7,272 recoveries.

New cases were below the daily average of about 150 over the preceding week, while the fatalities were above the daily average of three for the period.

The state infection rate, also considered a better indicator of the trend of the outbreak in Nevada, continued to decline, reaching 5.4 percent. The rate, which represents the percentage of people diagnosed from those tested for COVID-19, peaked on April 23 in the state at 12.66 percent.

The decline in the infection rate reflects an increase in testing as supplies have become more widely available. In the early months after the state reported its first case of COVID-19 on March 5, an extreme shortage of such supplies resulted in only seriously ill patients being tested for the disease, producing an inflated rate of infection as a result.

The steady decline in the rate represents a surge in testing that began in early May and has led to many more Nevadans being tested. As of Monday, 180,003 people have been tested, or just over 5.8 percent of the state’s population of 3.08 million, according to a 2019 estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau.

In another development Monday, the Regional Information Center in Washoe County reported 29 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total in the county to 1,772. The center estimates that 1,138 of those patients have recovered. The county also has reported 65 deaths.

Contact Mike Brunker at mbrunker@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4656. Follow @mike_brunker on Twitter.