Clark County registers 130 new COVID-19 cases, 2 more deaths

Clark County recorded 130 new COVID-19 cases and two additional deaths over the preceding day, according to data published Friday by the Southern Nevada Health District.

The data posted on the district’s coronavirus web page brought the total number of cases reported in the county to 7,186 and fatalities attributed to the disease caused by the new coronavirus to 357.

The number of new cases was well above the daily average of slightly more than 92.5 over the preceding week, and the number of deaths was near the average of 2.2 over the period.

Health district staff redistribute the cases and deaths after they are reported in an effort to better reflect when they occurred. As a result, the totals announced daily generally don’t match the detailed breakdown by date that the district provides.

The district estimates that 5,641 of those who contracted the illness have recovered.

The hospitalization rate in the county, considered by public health experts to be a better indicator of the overall trend of the outbreak than new cases and deaths, continued to decline, hitting 18.15 percent. The rate has seen a steady decline since it peaked at 27.50 percent on April 10.

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The state Department of Health and Human Services reported 176 new COVID-19 cases and four additional deaths in Nevada from the previous day.

The new figures posted on the state’s nvhealthresponse.nv.gov web page brought the case total for the state to 9,266 and pushed the death toll to 433. Reports from local health districts and other county agencies place the case total somewhat higher, at 9,315 as of Friday evening.

The number of new cases was higher than the daily average of just over 125 for the preceding week, and the number of fatalities was higher than the daily average of just over 2.4 over the period.

Like the health district, the state agency redistributes the cases and deaths after they are reported in an effort to better reflect when they occurred. As a result, the totals announced daily generally don’t match the detailed breakdown by date that it provides.

The infection rate — the number of people confirmed to have the disease out of all those tested — ticked slightly higher, to 5.7 percent, ending a run of seven straight days of decline. Overall, however, the rate is well below the high of 12.66 percent reported on April 23.

Like the hospitalization rate at the county level, the infection rate is considered a better indicator of the trend of the outbreak in the state.

The infection rate has been driven lower by increased COVID-19 testing over recent weeks following a severe shortage of supplies in the early months of the outbreak in the state in early March. The surge has resulted in an average of more than 5,100 tests a day over the past week. That, in turn, has led to more people with mild or moderate symptoms — or even no symptoms — of the disease being checked and found not to be infected by the virus, resulting in the declining infection rate.

In another development Friday, Nye County officials reported two new COVID-19 cases. Both cases occurred in residents of Beatty, the county said in a news release. The new cases raised the total for the county to 66, of whom 49 have recovered, according to the county. The county also has reported two deaths.

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.