Clark County reports most new COVID-19 cases in nearly 3 months

Clark County on Thursday reported the most new cases of COVID-19 in a single day in nearly three months.

The 796 new coronavirus cases added in updated data from the Southern Nevada Health District was the most since the district reported 824 new cases on Sept. 11, just as the summer surge of the disease was beginning to decline.

The district also reported three COVID-19 deaths during the preceding day, bringing cumulative totals in the county to 348,659 cases and 6,282 deaths.

New cases were more than double the two-week moving average of 339 per day, which increased by 15 from 324 on Wednesday, according to state data. The two-week moving average of daily fatalities in the county held steady at five per day.

The number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the county increased by eight, to 582, the state data showed.

The county’s 14-day test positivity rate, which tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, increased 0.1 percentage point to 7.4 percent. That number fell to a recent low of 5.8 percent in early November before beginning to rise.

All four key COVID-19 metrics in the county had been falling steadily since mid- to late August before starting to slowly climb at the start of November.

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

Apart from Thursday’s new cases number, levels of the disease in the county still remain well below those seen during the summer surge, but the recent increases raised concerns that another spike of the disease caused by the new coronavirus may be starting. Adding to those concerns is the emergence of the omicron variant, which has not yet been detected in Nevada but is expected to come to the Silver State and the arrival of the holidays, which can make it easier for the virus to spread.

The state, meanwhile, reported 992 new COVID-19 cases and seven deaths during the preceding day. It was the highest single-day number of new cases reported by the Department of Health and Human Services since early October.

Updated figures posted by the department raised Nevada’s totals to 463,803 cases and 8,153 deaths.

Nevada’s 14-day moving average of new cases increased to 451 per day from 434 on Wednesday. The two-week average for fatalities returned to seven per day a day after it climbed to eight.

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.

County numbers are included in the statewide totals.

Of the state’s other closely watched metrics, the state’s two-week test positivity rate increased 0.1 percentage point to 7.4 percent, while the number of people in Nevada hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases rose to 693, four more than on Wednesday.

As of Thursday’s report, state data show that 53.17 percent of Nevadans five and older had been fully vaccinated, compared with 52.43 percent in Clark County.

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