Nevada adds 2.5K COVID cases, 30 deaths, down from week-ago record

Nevada on Monday reported 2,523 new coronavirus cases and 30 deaths over the preceding three days — significant numbers, but lower than levels reported a week ago.

Data posted by the state Department of Health and Human Services on the state’s coronavirus website pushed totals to 373,649 cases and 6,190 deaths.

The state’s two-week moving average of new cases increased to 960, up 23 from the last report on Friday. That meant cases were slightly below average for the period when spread over three days.

They also were below the record 3,010 new cases and 35 deaths reported a week ago by the state, the highest three day totals since the state ceased reporting updated statistics in mid-April.

Fatalities were right at the two-week moving average of daily deaths, which dropped from 12 to 10 over the weekend, according to the state data.

New cases have been climbing steadily since June 9, when the two week average reached a recent low of 134 per day. The death rate began to rise just over two weeks later from its recent low of three deaths per day on average. Both metrics saw those increases flatten over the past week.

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

The state’s two-week positivity rate, meanwhile, which essentially tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 16.2 percent, according to state data.

After a lengthy period with rapid growth, the rate began to flatline last week. It is now 0.2 percentage points below its recent high of 16.4 percent on Friday. It had been as low as 3.3 percent on June 9.

State data showed that 1,262 people were hospitalized with either confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the state, a decrease of 32 from the last report on Friday.

That number had also seen significant growth, but the Nevada Hospital Association said last week that it believed the state was close to reaching the peak of the current fourth wave.

Nevada no longer reports numbers over the weekend, and public health officials have said that reporting on Mondays and sometimes Tuesdays can be inflated as a result of the delayed compilation of local reports.

State and county health agencies also often redistribute the daily data after it is reported to better reflect the date of death or a test or onset of symptoms, which is why the moving-average trend lines frequently differ from daily reports and are considered better indicators of the direction of the outbreak.

The 14-day moving average of vaccine doses administered dropped slightly to 6,643 per day, but that number is still significantly higher than the recent low average of 4,833 doses per day reported on July 15.

State data also showed that 59.97 percent of the population 12 and older had initiated vaccination, while 49.40 percent have been fully vaccinated.

Meanwhile, the Southern Nevada Health District reported 1,964 new coronavirus cases in Clark County for Friday through Sunday, bringing the local cumulative case total to 293,466. It also reported 26 of the state’s deaths, bringing the toll in the county to 4,962.

The county’s 14-day positivity rate dropped to 16.3 percent.

County numbers are reflected in the state totals.

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