Nevada adds 1.2K COVID-19 cases, most of them outside Clark County

Updated data posted by the state Department of Health and Human Services on the state’s coronavirus website also showed 31 additional fatalities.

New COVID-19 cases, which brought the cumulative state total to 390,600, were well above the two-week moving daily average for the metric of 904, a sharp decline from the 946 reported on Monday. Longer-term trend lines also point to a slowing of the spread of the disease in the state.

Total fatalities from the disease increased to 6,510,and the two-week average of the daily deaths rose by one to 14, the data show. The trendline for deaths also has declined somewhat from the recent high of 19 per day on Aug. 22.

The state’s two-week test positivity rate, which essentially tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, continued its recent descent, dropping 0.4 percentage point to 12.3 percent, according to state data.

Positivity rate falls sharply

The rate had been climbing steadily since hitting a recent low of 3.3 percent on June 9, but began retreating after rebounding to a recent high of 16.4 percent two weeks ago, according to state data. It has been dropping faster than other numbers like deaths and hospitalizations, which have registered only slight declines.

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

State officials said last week that regular testing protocols for schools and businesses, where people are tested consistently even if they don’t show any COVID-19 symptoms, could be causing the number to drop so quickly.

The state also reported that 1,158 people in Nevada were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, 27 less than the day prior.

The Nevada Hospital Association has said that the current wave of hospitalizations is likely at or past its peak in Southern Nevada, but cases continue to rise in the northern part of the state.

That divide was reflected in Tuesday’s numbers. The northern counties of Carson City and Washoe both showed 14-day test positivity rates of 18 percent, significantly higher than the statewide number.

The state reinstituted a mask mandate in crowded indoor public spaces in many counties on July 30, about two weeks before the state’s numbers started to flatten and drop. That was especially true in Clark County, which has long accounted for a vast majority of the cases and deaths in the state.

But while the state’s main COVID-19 metrics are all trending lower, they remain at high levels.

2 more counties go under mask mandate

State officials announced Tuesday that 16 of the state’s 17 counties are now considered to be at a “high or substantial rate of transmission.” Esmeralda and Lander counties have been in that tier for two weeks, so a mask mandate will go into effect there on Friday.

Eureka County also had a high transmission rate this week and will shift to a mask mandate on Sept. 10 if that persists another week.

Mineral County, meanwhile, saw its numbers drop and is now in a “low” rate of transmission, the state said. If that continues for another week, the mask mandate will only apply to unvaccinated individuals.

The mask mandate is tied to official guidance from the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention. Under its criteria, counties must remain in “low” or “moderate” categories for two consecutive weeks in order for the mask mandate to be lifted for vaccinated individuals. Those who have not been vaccinated would still be required to wear masks in indoor settings.

To reach the moderate category, a county must have a rate of under 50 cases per 100,000 population and a COVID-19 test positivity rate of 10 percent or less, as calculated by the seven-day moving average.

As of Tuesday, Clark County was at 202 cases per 100,000 people and had a test positivity rate of 10.96 percent, per CDC data.

Remembering those we’ve lost to COVID-19

While the trends are encouraging, state officials have resisted saying the the current COVID-19 surge has crested.

As of Tuesday’s report, 51.79 percent of Nevadans 12 and older had been fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the Southern Nevada Health District reported 615 new coronavirus cases and 20 additional deaths, according to data posted to the Southern Nevada Health District’s coronavirus website.

Cumulative totals in the county rose to 304,102 cases and 5,218 deaths.

The county’s two-week test positivity rate decreased by 0.5 percentage point to 11.0 percent, six points down from its recent high of 17 on Aug. 8, according to state data. The state uses a different time period than the CDC to measure the rate so the figures don’t match.

County numbers are included in the statewide totals.

Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.