Nevada reports 1 new coronavirus death — lowest daily increase since April

Nevada on Friday reported the lowest single-day increase in coronavirus deaths in nearly two months, according to state data.

There were 361 new cases and one additional death recorded on Friday, according to updated figures posted to the Department of Health and Human Services’ coronavirus website. Friday marked the lowest single-day increase in fatalities since no deaths were recorded on April 12, although the state no longer reports daily increases over the weekend.

The death reported Friday occurred in Clark County, according to data from the Southern Nevada Health District.

Cumulative totals in the state rose to 325,392 cases and 5,600 deaths since the pandemic began.

The new cases remained higher than the moving 14-day average of daily reported cases, which increased slightly to 114 on Friday. Deaths were lower than the moving average of two fatalities recorded daily during that same period.

State officials have said that it is normal for daily figures to be higher than the moving averages due to delayed reports and redistributed data. State and county health agencies redistribute the 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 two-week average of new cases has decreased every day since May 3, state data shows. As of Friday, the metric was at its lowest point in more than a year, since it dropped to 113 on May 26, 2020.

Like new cases, the moving average for deaths has been trending down since May, although it has remained mostly stable for the past week.

After declining in recent weeks, the state’s two-week positivity rate, which essentially measures the percentage of people tested found to be infected with COVID-19, remained at 3.6 percent on Friday. The rate is at its lowest point since dipping to 3.5 percent nearly a year ago, state data shows.

The positivity rate has either decreased or remained stagnant every day since April 26 that data has been reported, although it has been declining faster over the past two weeks.

As of Friday’s report, are 226 people in Nevada hospitalized with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases, which is four fewer than the day prior.

Clark County on Friday also reported 313 new cases, according to the health district’s coronavirus website.

Cumulative totals in the county rose to 252,450 cases and 4,420 deaths.

The county’s two-week positivity rate also remained at 3.6 percent, according to state data.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.