Nevada surpasses 400K COVID-19 cases as death average inches higher

Nevada on Thursday passed another major COVID-19 milestone as the number of cases reported in the state topped 400,000.

The state Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,115 new cases and 44 deaths over the preceding day, bringing official totals to 400,349 cases and 6,681 deaths.

New cases were above the two-week moving average, which continued its now weekslong downward trend by dipping from 868 to 859.

Deaths also were well above the average of 11 per day over the period. The average, which rose one from the 10 reported Wednesday, has been fluctuating for weeks but remains below its recent high of 17 per day Aug. 18.

State and county health agencies often redistribute daily 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 number of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the state decreased by 22 from 1,137 to 1,115. That figure has fluctuated recently, but it has been trending lower along with other key metrics.

The state’s two-week test positivity rate, which essentially tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, declined 0.1 percentage point to 12.2 percent.

The rate began rising steadily after bottoming out at 3.3 percent June 9 but has dropped more than 4 percentage points from its recent peak of 16.4 percent Aug. 13.

It has been holding relatively steady at its current levels for about a week.

As has been the case in several recent daily updates, the majority of new cases occurred outside Clark County. Southern Nevada has seen a drop in most major metrics, but that hasn’t been matched by the rest of the state.

Vaccination numbers also continued to sag after surging in July and August. The state reported that 878 first doses per 100,000 people were administered last week, down 4 percent from the week before. Nevada’s vaccination rate of nearly 63 percent of eligible residents having initiated vaccination is just over 10 percentage points below the national average of 73 percent.

Washoe County again saw an increase in its test positivity rate, which rose to 19.4 percent. That’s nearly 3 percentage points higher than the statewide peak during the current wave of the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The rise in metrics in July triggered a state face mask mandate, which will be in effect in each of Nevada’s 17 counties beginning Friday. Most counties were already required to mask up in crowded indoor spaces after being classified as places with a “high or substantial rate of transmission” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Lincoln County, which has been in the “high” transmission tier for two straight weeks, will be subject to the mask mandate as of Friday.

Remembering those we’ve lost to COVID-19

Clark County, meanwhile, recorded 434 new COVID-19 cases and 22 deaths over the preceding day, according to data posted by the Southern Nevada Health District on its coronavirus web page. That brought county totals to 309,175 cases and 5,325 deaths.

Clark County’s two-week test positivity rate decreased by 0.2 percentage point to 10.2 percent.

County numbers are included in the statewide totals.

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