Nevada’s new COVID cases remain far above average as deaths rebound

Nevada on Thursday reported 458 new coronavirus cases and 11 additional deaths.

Updated figures posted by the Department of Health and Human Services on the state’s coronavirus website brought totals in the state to 314,928 COVID-19 cases and 5,459 deaths.

New cases were well above the moving 14-day average of daily recorded cases, which stood at 258. Deaths were nearly four times the two-week average of three fatalities per day and represented an increase from Wednesday, when the state reported four deaths.

State and county health agencies often redistribute the 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 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 Thursday at 5.7 percent for the fourth consecutive day.

Clark County’s positive rate also was unchanged at 5.6 percent, state data shows.

There were 327 people in Nevada hospitalized with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Thursday’s report, 18 fewer than the previous day.

Clark County, meanwhile, reported 395 new coronavirus cases and all of the deaths tallied by the state, according to updated figures posted to the Southern Nevada Health District’s coronavirus website. Cumulative totals in the county rose to 243,550 cases and 4,295 deaths.

A previous version of this article incorrectly reported the total number of COVID-19 cases in Clark County.

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