Increase in COVID-19 cases in Nevada, Clark County lowest in months

Nevada recorded 137 new cases of COVID-19 — the lowest one-day increase in nearly three months — and no new deaths over the preceding day, according to state data posted Tuesday.

Figures from the Department of Health and Human Services posted on its nvhealthresponse.nv.gov website raised the case total of the disease caused by the new coronavirus to 72,104.

New cases were far below the daily average of just over 391 cases in the preceding week and the lowest one-day total since the state added 106 cases on June 14.

The state death toll remained unchanged at 1,393, far below the daily average of nearly 13 deaths a day over the preceding week. The 86 deaths recorded over the week ending Saturday were the lowest total in the state since the week of July 19-25.

The Southern Nevada Health District, meanwhile, reported just 67 new COVID-19 cases and zero deaths for Clark County, the lowest one-day increase since the district added 62 cases on May 31.

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The declines in cases, deaths and hospitalizations over recent weeks leave Nevada’s cumulative infection or positivity rate as the only key metric that isn’t moving dramatically lower, though it has stabilized and ticked down slightly over the last week.

The rate remained unchanged at 11.57 percent for the third straight day, according to Tuesday’s state data. The rate, calculated by the Review-Journal as confirmed cases divided by the number of people tested, is considered a better indicator of the trend of the outbreak than daily new cases and deaths figures.

Before the recent flattening, the rate had been growing steadily since bottoming out at 5.20 percent on June 17.

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The state also reported that hospitalizations of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 cases continue to decline, with 538 patients recorded in Tuesday’s report. That is less than half the levels seen in late July and early August, which strained the state’s health care system.

Testing for COVID-19 also was down in Tuesday’s report, with the 2,724 recorded being the lowest single day total since Aug. 8.

The Southern Nevada Health District data, meanwhile, brought total cases in Clark County to 61,543 and left the death toll unchanged at 1,206.

The figures for new cases and deaths were both far below the daily averages of the preceding week, which were nearly 294 and just over 11, respectively.

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In another development Tuesday, the health district announced that the county has recorded a total of eight cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). All eight cases are reported in children under the age of 14, all of whom tested positive for COVID-19. All eight were hospitalized and have been discharged.

The district said it will include reporting on the number of confirmed cases of the rare illness, which is being studied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to learn more about it and its impact on children. While there isn’t a known cause, many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19 or close contact with someone who did.

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