Most Clark County COVID-19 metrics continue steady decline

Clark County on Wednesday reported 201 new coronavirus cases and 32 deaths, as most numbers continued to decline but death numbers stayed relatively flat.

The updates brought totals posted by the Southern Nevada Health District to 488,395 cases and 7,521 deaths.

Most metrics have been dropping quickly for over a month, in line with what health officials expected during the omicron-driven surge. But death numbers are still relatively high, and the county and state have routinely reported a significantly higher death toll each day than the long-term metrics suggest.

Cassius Lockett, director of disease surveillance and control for the health district, said Wednesday that deaths don’t always show up on the day they actually happened, and pointed people to long-term metrics to showcase the current trends in the area.

“If we enter in 50 cases in a day, it doesn’t necessarily reflect the date that those records were actually registered,” he said. “And it doesn’t necessarily reflect the date of death.”

Most long-term metrics did continue to see declines, including the two-week moving average of new cases. That number declined by 12 cases to 141. The two-week moving average of daily deaths held at 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 0.5 percentage point to 7.6 percent.

The number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the county declined from 318 on Tuesday to 287.

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.

Lockett also said Wednesday that CDC numbers showing Clark County in the “high” transmission tier were likely incorrect, and the health district was looking into how those numbers ended up pushing the county’s transmission level into that tier. The county jumped up into the tier this week after dropping into a lower tier last week.

The state reported 363 new coronavirus cases and 37 deaths, bringing totals posted by Nevada’s Department of Health and Human Services to 645,978 cases and 9,753 deaths.

New cases were above the two-week moving average, which decreased from 225 on Tuesday to 207. The two-week moving average of daily deaths held at six.

Of the state’s other closely watched metrics, the statewide 14-day test positivity rate dropped 0.6 percentage point to 8.5 percent, while the number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 dropped to 338 from 379 on Tuesday.

State data showed Wednesday that 56.61 percent of Nevadans 5 and older were fully vaccinated, compared with 55.98 percent in Clark County.

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