Latest metrics show significant progress against COVID in Clark County

Clark County on Monday reported 661 new coronavirus cases and 27 deaths over the preceding three days, representing another period of significant progress against the disease.

The updates from the Southern Nevada Health District brought county totals to 488,046 cases and 7,479 deaths.

Most metrics have fallen almost as quickly as they rose in the first place since the surge peaked in mid-January. That led Gov. Steve Sisolak to rescind the state’s mask mandate on Feb. 10, even though no county had met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria initially needed to do it. But numbers have continued to drop, even as all restrictions have been lifted.

The county’s two-week moving average of daily new cases dropped by 20 cases to 168. The two-week moving average of daily deaths held steady at five.

The 14-day test positivity rate, which tracks the percentage of people tested who are found to be infected with COVID-19, decreased by 1.3 percentage point to 8.4 percent. That number has been dropping quickly over the past month as the surge continues to subside throughout the county and state.

In addition, Monday’s report showed 320 people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the county, down from 360 on Friday. That number has also seen rapid declines in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the state reported 798 new cases and 40 deaths, bringing statewide totals posted by the state Department of Health and Human Services to 645,367 cases and 9,704 deaths.

Divided by three, new cases were slightly above the two-week moving average, which nonetheless decreased by 35 to 251. The two-week moving average of daily deaths dropped from seven to six.

Of the state’s other closely-watched metrics, the 14-day test positivity rate decreased 1.6 percentage point to 9.5 percent, while the number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 dropped from 459 on Friday to 395.

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 an outbreak.

As of Monday, state data showed that 56.57 percent of Nevadans five and older had been fully vaccinated, compared with 55.95 percent in Clark County.

That number varies widely throughout the state. Carson City has the state’s highest vaccination rate, at 64.90 percent, while Storey County has the lowest, at 24.66 percent.

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