New COVID-19 cases, deaths in Nevada remain well above average

Nevada on Tuesday reported 476 new coronavirus cases and seven additional deaths over the preceding day.

Updated figures posted to the Department of Health and Human Services’ coronavirus website brought totals in the state to 316,715 cases and 5,480 deaths since the pandemic began.

New cases were well above the moving 14-day average of daily reported cases, which dropped to 254. Fatalities were also higher than the moving average of three daily deaths recorded during that same time period.

The average for new cases and deaths started climbing in April, but retreated a bit at the end of the month, the state data show.

The state’s two-week positivity rate, which essentially tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, remained unchanged at 5.7 percent. Although the state no longer reports data over weekends, the positivity rate has remained at that level since April 26, according to records maintained by the Review-Journal.

The rate had been declining steadily for about three months until April, when it rose from 4.2 percent to 5.9 percent by the third week of the month. It has retreated 0.2 percentage points since then, but has still remained mostly stagnant.

There were 388 people hospitalized in Nevada with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday’s report, 57 more than the previous day, according to state data.

Clark County on Tuesday reported 387 new coronavirus cases and six additional deaths, according to data from the Southern Nevada Health District’s coronavirus website.

Cumulative totals in the county rose to 245,034 cases and 4,315 deaths.

The county’s two-week positivity rate, which had increased a tenth of a percentage point on Monday, remained at 5.7 percent.

This article has been updated to correct the number of coronavirus deaths reported by the state on Tuesday.

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