Clark County reports 65 new cases of COVID-19, 7 deaths

Clark County recorded 65 new COVID-19 cases and seven additional deaths from the disease caused by the new coronavirus, according to data posted Thursday.

The update by the Southern Nevada Health District pushed the case total for the county to 6,352 and brought the number of deaths to 339.

The deaths have occurred since the first fatality in the county was reported on March 15. By comparison, influenza has claimed 54 lives and caused 1,398 hospitalizations in the county since the beginning of the flu season in October.

The new cases were lower than the daily average of just over 95 reported over the preceding week, while the deaths were more than twice the daily average of about 2½ per day over the period.

New cases and deaths are often redistributed after the district announces them to better reflect the dates they occurred, so the totals announced daily often do not match the district’s reconfigured data.

The health district estimates that 5,024 of those diagnosed with COVID-19 have recovered.

The hospitalization rate, a key indicator of the trend of the outbreak in the county, continued its steady decline. The rate stood at 19.49 percent as of Thursday’s report, meaning about one in five of those who tested positive for the disease ended up in the hospital.

The rate has been driven lower by the growing availability of testing for the disease, which results in more people with minor or no symptoms being checked. That trend is expected to continue barring a second wave of the illness.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported 95 new COVID-19 cases and eight additional deaths from the previous day.

The update raised the case total reported by the state to 8,208 and the death toll to 410. Reports from local health districts and counties placed the case total higher, at 8,244, as of midafternoon. Such discrepancies are common due to different reporting cycles between the local agencies and the state.

The new cases were below the daily average of nearly 117 over the preceding week. The number of fatalities was just above the daily average of nearly 3½ over the period.

Interactive: Tracking coronavirus impact in Nevada via data

The infection rate, which like the hospitalization rate for the county, is considered a better indicator of the trend of the outbreak in Nevada, has been steadily declining for more than a month. As of Thursday’s report, it stood at 6.26 percent, well below the peak of 12.66 percent reached on April 23.

In other developments Thursday:

— Public health officials in Washoe County reported 29 new COVID-19 cases and one additional death. A news release from the Regional Information Center said the new cases raised the county total to 1,514, of whom 834 have recovered. The fatality increased the death toll in Nevada’s second-most-populous county to 55.

— Nye County officials reported a second death of a county resident from COVID-19. A news release said the victim was a Pahrump resident but provided no other details.

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.