Nevada reports 15 more deaths from COVID-19, 656 new cases

There were 656 additional cases of the coronavirus reported in Nevada on Tuesday, along with 15 more deaths, according to Department of Health and Human Services data.

The updated figures posted to the agency’s website increased totals in the state to 91,499 cases and 1,727 deaths.

The state’s positivity rate, which the Review-Journal calculates as the number of cases divided by total people tested, reached 11.94 percent on Tuesday. The rate has been rising since mid-September.

Meanwhile, the health district, which calculates positivity based on total tests, reported a rate of 9.1 percent over the past two weeks. State positivity rates produce lower figures because many people receive multiple tests, increasing the totals that the percentages are based on, which in turn lowers the percentage.

While case totals have been steadily rising since mid-September, the number of deaths has declined since mid-August. However, increases in deaths typically lag several weeks behind increases in new cases.

There were 478 additional cases reported in Clark County on Tuesday, along with 13 new deaths, according to the Southern Nevada Health District. That brought totals in the county to 75,888 cases and 1,483 deaths.

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