Clark County COVID-19 metrics decline, but daily numbers tick higher

Clark County on Wednesday reported 415 new coronavirus cases and 26 deaths, as most long-term metrics continued to decline.

Overall long-term metrics have been dropping very quickly since the omicron-driven surge peaked over a month ago. Still, the 415 new cases reported Wednesday were significantly higher than the two-week moving average.

That number continued its decline, dropping from 105 on Tuesday to 98. The two-week moving average of daily deaths held steady at four.

The county and state have repeatedly reported a significantly higher number of deaths each day than the daily average suggests. That means looking at the number of deaths reported over a specific period of time is misleading, because public health officials have said the date a death is reported is not necessarily the date the death occurred.

There were more positive signs this week as the county dropped out of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “high” rate of transmission, but that happened a week after health district officials said they weren’t sure the CDC metrics showing the county in the highest transmission tier were correct.

Regardless, the county’s 7-day case rate per 100,000 people stood at 68.38 on Wednesday, a lower figure than it’s been for months. The Southern Nevada Health Districtlast week canceled weekly briefings that had been held each Wednesday, citing lowering case numbers in the area.

The county’s 14-day test positivity rate, which tracks the percentage of people tested who are found to be infected with COVID-19, stood at 5.3 percent on Wednesday. The number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the county declined from 231 on Tuesday to 209.

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.

Meanwhile, the state reported 452 new coronavirus cases and 31 deaths, bringing totals posted by the state Department of Health and Human Services to 648,052 cases and 9,875 deaths.

The totals in Clark County rose to 490,136 cases and 7,617 deaths.

New cases were well above the two-week moving average, which nonetheless decreased from 148 on Tuesday to 137. 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 0.3 percentage point to 5.8 percent, while the number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 dropped to 252 from 278 on Tuesday.

State data showed Wednesday that 56.73 percent of Nevadans 5 and older were fully vaccinated, compared with 56.10 percent in Clark County.

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