‘Return to normalcy’ for Nevada hospitals as COVID cases decline

Clark County on Wednesday reported 155 new coronavirus cases and 16 deaths over the preceding day, as officials said they saw more positive signs in the pandemic’s course and hospitals reported a “return to normalcy.”

Southern Nevada Health District Director of Disease Surveillance and Control Cassius Lockett said Wednesday that the organization is still focused on how to handle the pandemic, even as most mitigation measures throughout the state have been dropped.

“There’s always probability of a new variant emerging or right around the corner to start circulating in the community,” he said. “We definitely need to be more prepared, if one arrives and it’s highly contagious or even one that starts to evade vaccines.”

The health district plans to close down most of its major COVID-19 testing sites, but that coincides with the more widespread availability of at-home test kits. There are still plenty of sites to get initial vaccinations or booster shots, and public officials across the state said they are focused on ensuring more Nevadans get vaccinated.

“We’re going to continue to develop an abundance of educational materials to target vaccination vaccination campaigns, keep schools open and improve public safety,” Lockett said.

Wednesday’s updates brought totals posted by the health district to 486,731 cases and 7,387 deaths.

New cases were below the two-week moving average, which continued its recent decline and fell from 251 to 228. The two-week moving average of daily fatalities dropped from six to five.

The county’s 14-day test positivity rate, which tracks the percentage of people tested who are found to be infected with COVID-19, decreased by 0.8 percentage point to 11.2 percent. The number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the county rose by two, to 438.

“COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to decline and are anticipated to return to the baseline appreciated before the Delta wave,” the Nevada Hospital Association said in its weekly release Wednesday. “Hospitals report a return to normalcy with visiting hours being reestablished and medically necessary procedures and surgeries being routinely performed.”

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.

The state reported 266 new coronavirus cases and 21 deaths, bringing totals posted by Nevada’s Department of Health and Human Services to 643,228 cases and 9,575 deaths.

As has been a trend, new cases were below the two-week moving average, which decreased from 385 on Tuesday to 348. The two-week moving average of daily deaths dropped from eight to seven.

Of the state’s other closely watched metrics, the statewide 14-day test positivity rate dropped 1.0 percentage point to 12.8 percent, while the number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 dropped to 554.

Overall metrics have been dropping at a quick pace since the omicron-driven surge peaked in the state about a month ago.

“These numbers are fantastic to see. They’re moving in the right direction,” Kevin Dick, district health officer for the Washoe County Health District, told reporters on Wednesday. “We want to continue to see those numbers go down.”

State data showed Wednesday that 56.47 percent of Nevadans 5 and older were fully vaccinated, compared with 55.85 percent in Clark County.

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