Nevada COVID positivity rate dips again

Nevada added 1,020 new cases of COVID-19 and 46 deaths Wednesday, according to state data.

The new figures brought cumulative totals for the state to 273,873 cases and 4,134 deaths, the Department of Health and Human Services reported.

In calls with reporters Wednesday, Clark County and Southern Nevada Health District representatives discussed updated vaccine clinic information, data and more.

Caleb Cage, Nevada’s COVID-19 response director, said although some disease metrics have started trending downward in recent weeks, that doesn’t mean the state is out of the woods. Officials initially expected to see a surge in cases and other pandemic trends following December holidays and New Year’s Eve, as cases were already increasing after Thanksgiving.

“We may not have seen two distinct surges, but we definitely saw an increase in cases that was higher than we’d experienced before, and nationally and even in most cases, globally,” he said.

Cases reported Wednesday were below the 14-day moving average of 1,144 cases daily but ended a two-day streak of reported cases below 1,000. The reported deaths were above the two-week moving average of 18 per day.

Data: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada by the numbers

The state’s positivity rate, which essentially tracks the percentage of people tested who are diagnosed with the disease caused by the new coronavirus, declined another three-tenths of a percentage point, to 18.6 percent.

That was the 14th straight day that the rate has declined, according to the state data, which is sometimes adjusted after the fact to better reflect the onset of the illness.

The number of patients hospitalized in Nevada with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases fell to 1,400, a decrease of 62 from the previous day, according to state data. Although daily figures fluctuate, hospitalizations have been trending downward since December.

As of Wednesday, 68 percent of adult intensive care beds in the state are occupied, while 32 percent of all ICU patients are hospitalized for confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, according to data from the Nevada Hospital Association.

Southern Nevada continues to face more strain on its hospitals than other regions. Adult ICU beds are at 76 percent capacity in the region as of Wednesday, while 38 percent of all intensive care patients are hospitalized for COVID-19.

Clark County reported 855 new coronavirus cases, along with 40 additional deaths, according to the Southern Nevada Health District’s coronavirus website. Cumulative totals for the county rose to 210,581 cases and 3,164 deaths.

A previous version of this article contained an incorrect number for daily reported deaths and the state’s cumulative total of fatalities.

Contact Mike Brunker at mbrunker@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4656. Follow @mike_brunker on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Katelyn Newberg contributed to this report.