Nevada sees 5th straight day of fewer than 1K new COVID-19 cases

Nevada on Thursday reported 889 new coronavirus cases — the fifth straight day with fewer than 1,000 cases — along with 51 additional deaths over the preceding day.

Updated figures posted by the Department of Health and Human Services on its coronavirus website brought cumulative state totals to 281,596 cases and 4,424 deaths.

While reported deaths have remained high in recent weeks, other more forward-looking metrics have been decreasing since mid-January, Kyra Morgan, the state’s chief biostatistician, said Wednesday. Tuesday’s 811 recorded new cases were the lowest in nearly three months, since 635 cases were recorded Nov. 2, according to records kept by the Review-Journal.

New cases reported Thursday were slightly above the moving 14-day average of daily recorded cases, which fell to 858.

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

Fatalities were well above the moving two-week average of 17. Deaths from COVID-19 typically occur five or more weeks after the onset of symptoms, so state officials have said they expect the moving average to trend lower in the weeks ahead.

The state’s positivity rate, which essentially tracks the percentage of people tested who are found to have the disease, also has been decreasing. The 14-day moving daily average has dropped from a recent high of 21.7 percent on Jan. 13 to 16.5 percent, a 0.4-percentage-point decrease from the previous day.

There were 1,121 people in Nevada hospitalized with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases, 24 fewer than the previous day, state data show.

Data can fluctuate day by day, but state officials have reported that hospitalization totals have decreased in recent weeks, especially in the northern region of the state.

“While COVID hospitalizations are declining, we are still at levels higher than the previous wave’s peak,” the Nevada Hospital Association noted in a statement posted to its website. “Efforts to encourage vaccination, social distancing, mask wearing and person responsibility remain of the utmost importance.”

Adult intensive care beds in Nevada were 64 percent full as of Thursday’s update, with 24 percent of all ICU beds in the state occupied by confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients, association data showed.

In Southern Nevada, adult ICU beds were 70 percent full, with 29 percent filled by COVID-19 patients.

Clark County on Thursday reported 696 additional cases and 47 new deaths, according to data posted to the Southern Nevada Health District’s coronavirus website. The updated figures brought totals in the county to 216,817 cases and 3,398 deaths.

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