Nevada COVID-19 metrics continue to rise

Clark County on Wednesday saw its major COVID-19 metrics rise again, as numbers continued to indicate the current wave is going to continue inching up before it goes back down.

The rate stood at 18.8 percent positivity as of Wednesday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number fell below 5 percent in March before it started to tick back up, with growth happening much more quickly in recent weeks.

Clark County’s case rate per 100,000 people, another key CDC metric, also increased this week from 86.07 to 110.69. Those numbers kept Clark County firmly in the CDC’s “high rate of transmission,” a marker that formerly determined whether a county would be under a mask mandate.

Gov. Steve Sisolak rescinded the mask mandate in February as metrics dropped quickly, but the mask mandate had been in effect for counties that sat in the “high rate of transmission” for two or more consecutive weeks.

While the numbers have increased significantly over the past few months, they still remain well below the highs seen over the winter during the omicron-driven surge throughout the state and county. State officials switched from daily to weekly reports in March, but numbers started inching upwards shortly thereafter.

The county’s 14-day moving average of daily new cases also showed an increase, to 348 from 253 last week.

Deaths ticked up but still remained at relatively low levels compared with the increase in other metrics. The two-week moving average of daily deaths in the county held steady at one, where it’s been for weeks.

The number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the county stood at 168 on Wednesday, up from 137 last week.

The Nevada Hospital Association noted in its weekly update that hospitalizations are now increasing in both Clark County and Carson City but added that numbers are still at relative lows compared with the rest of the pandemic.

“Evidence of minor COVID-19 resurgence is observed in the southern region,” the trade group said. “The resurgence, however, is not stressing the hospital infrastructure at this time.”

Meanwhile, the state also reported an increase in most metrics. The two-week moving average of daily new cases rose from 317 last week to 429, while the two-week moving average of daily deaths jumped from one to two.

Totals for the pandemic stood at 671,933 cases and 10,824 deaths, according to data from the state Department of Health and Human Services. The number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the county stood at 202.

With Clark County, Nye, Esmeralda, Douglas, Lyon, Washoe, White Pine and Elko counties were in the high rate of transmission, according to CDC data. Carson City was also in the high rate of transmission.

As of Wednesday, state data showed that 57.34 percent of Nevadans 5 and older were considered fully vaccinated, compared with 56.68 percent in Clark County.

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