Nevada COVID-19 positivity rate at 6.3%, lowest in more than 5 months

Updated figures from the Department of Health and Human Services posted on the state’s coronavirus website raised totals to 296,822 cases and 5,054 deaths.

New cases were well above the moving 14-day average of 245 daily reported cases. The two-week average for daily reported fatalities dropped to five, or nearly a third of Tuesday’s reported total.

Both measurements and other disease metrics have been steadily declining since mid-January, state data shows.

State and county health agencies often redistribute 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 states 14-day positivity rate, which essentially tracks how many people tested are infected with the virus, dropped to 6.3 percent, which is a 0.2 percentage-point decrease from the day before. The rate is now less than one-third of the 21.6 percent peak reported on Jan. 13 and the lowest it’s been since Sept. 28.

There were 395 people hospitalized in Nevada hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, nine more than the day prior. Although totals can vary day by day, hospitalizations in Nevada have been steadily increasing since January, state officials have said.

Clark County on Tuesday reported 350 new coronavirus cases and 13 additional deaths, according to data posted to the Southern Nevada Health District’s coronavirus website.

Cumulative totals in the county rose to 229,156 cases and 3,947 deaths.

The county’s 14-day positivity rate dropped to 6.8 percent on Saturday, a 0.3-percentage-point decrease from the day prior. The rate is 0.5 percentage point higher than the state’s average.

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