Nevada reports 337 new cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths
The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services on Monday reported 337 new cases of the COVID-19 statewide and no additional deaths.
This brings the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 82,437, with the number of deaths remaining at 1,623.
Meanwhile, Clark County separately reported 300 new cases and no additional deaths.
Both the number of daily new cases in Nevada and the test positivity rate have been edging up since the middle of September. The number of deaths has declined while hospitalizations have plateaued, though these indicators of disease in a community lag several weeks behind reports of new cases.
Statewide, the seven-day average of people testing positive for the virus is 13.8 percent, with a cumulative percentage since the start of the pandemic of 11.5 percent, according to a Review-Journal analysis. State government, which calculates positivity rate based on the number of tests administered rather than number of people tested, reported a seven-day average of 8.6 percent, with a cumulative percentage of 9.8 percent.
The state’s methodology yields lower figures because many people get tested multiple times, increasing the numbers upon which the percentages are based, which in turn lowers the percentages.
For the second week in a row, Washoe County has been flagged by the state as being at an elevated risk level related to COVID-19 due to a rising positivity rate. As a result, it will be expected to present an action plan later this week to the COVID-19 Management and Mitigation Task Force.
Citing the county’s spike in cases, Washoe County Health Officer Kevin Dick last week expressed concern about easing restrictions on gatherings as outlined by Gov. Steve Sisolak.
As first reported by the Review-Journal, Washoe and Southern Nevada Health District officials sent a letter to the governor expressing concern that their agencies had not been consulted regarding the easing of restrictions on gatherings and other COVID-19 public health policy decisions.
Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on Twitter.
