Clark County reports 44 new COVID-19 cases as state total nears 8K

Clark County recorded 44 additional COVID-19 cases and no new deaths over the preceding day as the hospitalization rate from the disease caused by the new coronavirus continued to decline, according to data posted Tuesday.

The additional cases reported by the Southern Nevada Health District on its coronavirus web page pushed the number of total cases in the county to 6,226 and left the death toll at 329.

The health district estimates that 4,853 patients who contracted COVID-19 have recovered.

The number of new cases was well below the average of nearly 105 seen over the preceding week.

The last death from the disease in the county occurred on Thursday, according to the health district.

Hospitalization rate declining

Public health authorities are keeping a close watch on the hospitalization rate — the percentage of people hospitalized from the total tested for COVID-19 — as a better indicator of the trend of the outbreak in the county, as case and death figures fluctuate widely from day to day. The hospitalization rate has been declining steadily since peaking at 31.49 percent (including deaths) on April 10 and stood at 24.49 percent in Tuesday’s report.

Experts say an increase in testing for the coronavirus is driving that rate lower, as more people with mild to moderate symptoms — or in some cases no symptoms at all — are checked.

Interactive: Coronavirus impact in Nevada

Meanwhile, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported 118 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total for Nevada to 7,997.

That figure also was below the daily average of the preceding week of 139.

The case figure released by the state was lower than the total from reports from local health districts and county officials, which stood at 8,058 as of Tuesday evening. The two numbers are usually out of sync because of different reporting cycles among local agencies and the state.

The state report provided new evidence of the increase in testing for the coronavirus in the state, with a record 9,325 new tests reported. That was well above the daily average of 5,202 tests conducted over the preceding week, which favorably compared with a daily average of 3,446 the week before that.

The additional testing has resulted in a steady decline in the infection rate, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases divided by the number of people tested. Like the hospitalization rate at the county level, public health experts say this rate provides a more accurate picture of the direction of the outbreak in the state.

Since peaking at 12.2 percent on April 24, the rate has steadily declined to reach 6.5 percent as of Tuesday’s report.

The death toll reported by the state was unchanged at 396. The state typically updates that figure in the afternoon.

In other developments Tuesday:

— Public health officials in Washoe County reported 54 new COVID-19 case, bringing the total reported in the county to 1,459. The Regional Information Center reports that 801 of those patients have recovered. The county’s death toll remained unchanged at 54.

— Nye County announced that two new cases were reported Monday. The county also said 39 of its 62 cases are now listed as recovered.

— Carson City Health and Human Services reported two new cases — a male Lyon County resident under age 18 and a Douglas County man in his 60s — and three additional recoveries of COVID-19 in the Quad-County region. That brings the region’s total cases to 176, including 128 recoveries, four deaths and 44 active cases.

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