Nevada COVID-19 cases, deaths up for day, but still trending lower

Updated figures posted to the Department of Health and Human Services’ coronavirus website brought state totals to 301,727 cases and 5,203 deaths.

New cases were well above the moving 14-day average of daily reported cases, which dropped to 196. Newly reported deaths were also well above the moving two-week average, which remained at four per day.

Both averages, however, are continuing a downward trend that started in mid-January.

State and county health agencies often redistribute the daily data after it is reported to better reflect the date of death 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.

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

The state’s two-week positivity rate, which essentially tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, decreased by 0.1 percentage points, to 4.6 percent.

There were 301 people hospitalized in Nevada with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, nine more than the day prior, according to state data. Although hospitalizations can fluctuate day to day, totals have also been decreasing steadily since January and are now at their lowest level since the Nevada Hospital Association began tracking the data nearly a year ago, the state’s COVID-19 response director Caleb Cage said Wednesday.

Clark County, meanwhile, reported 194 new coronavirus cases and 1o additional deaths, according to data posted to the Southern Nevada Health District’s coronavirus website.

Cumulative totals for the county rose to 233,110 cases and 4,072 deaths.

The county’s positivity rate also decreased by 0.1 percentage points, matching the state rate at 4.6 percent.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.