COVID-19 rise pushing Clark County hospitals to the brink

The spike in coronavirus cases in Nevada is turning up the pressure on the state’s hospitals, especially in Southern Nevada, where a record 90 percent of licensed beds were occupied, according to state and hospital data.

Figures posted Friday by the Nevada Hospital Association showed 1,854 people in Nevada hospitalized with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases. The total was up 30 patients from the preceding day and represented a 12.2 percent increase from last week.

The record was merely the latest new high mark after months of surging cases of the disease, a mounting death toll and a hospital system that is drawing close to capacity. A maximum of 1,165 people were hospitalized at the height of the summer’s COVID-19 wave.

The association said the spike in the disease in the northern and rural areas of the state may be “starting to recede,” but warned that Southern Nevada is in the midst of a new “hospitalization wave.”

As of Thursday, it said, 1,331 suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients — or nearly 80 percent of the state’s total — were filling a little over 28 percent of the region’s 4,686 licensed hospital beds. The remainder of the beds were filled by people with other diseases and injuries.

Caleb Cage, the state’s COVID-19 response director, said at a briefing Friday that the surge being seen in the south may be a Thanksgiving leftover.

“In Northern Nevada, based on their remarks we’re starting to see … somewhat of a leveling off from the surge,” he said. “In Southern Nevada we’re starting to see additional increase. And as of yesterday, we received notification that we were starting to see … what could be the early effects of the Thanksgiving holidays at this time.”

The rising hospital caseload and an upward trend of COVID-19 deaths are closely tracking a surge in cases that began in Nevada in mid-September.

The state Department of Health and Human Services on Friday reported 45 additional coronavirus deaths in the state, the third-highest single-day increase. Thursday set the record with 50 deaths reported in a single day, breaking the record of 48 deaths reported on Dec. 3.

The newly reported deaths increased the moving seven-day average of daily reported deaths to 30, the highest the statistic has been since the start of the pandemic.

There were also 2,783 COVID-19 cases reported, higher than the moving seven-day average of 2,697 cases, according to the state data. The updated figures brought cumulative totals in the state to 181,310 cases and 2,479 deaths.

The two-week positivity rate calculated by the state health department decreased for the second day in a row. The rate stood at 21.9 percent, a 0.2-percentage-point decrease from the previous day.

There were 1,804 additional cases reported in Clark County, along with 27 new deaths, according to data from the Southern Nevada Health District. Those figures are included in the state reporting.

The updated figures brought totals in the county to 137,100 cases and 1,962 deaths.

The state is nearing the end of a three-week “pause” ordered Gov. Steve Sisolak to monitor and assess the rate of infection spread and related metrics, with the potential for a stricter level of restrictions coming if recent rapid surges do not abate. That three-week period concludes Monday at midnight.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter. Contact Mike Brunker at mbrunker@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4656. Follow @mike_brunker on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writers Michael Scott Davidson and Mary Hynes contributed to this report.