Clark County COVID-19 metrics continue downward trend
Clark County on Friday recorded a seventh straight day with fewer than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases as metrics continued to decline this week.
State data showed that the county added 559 new cases and 17 new deaths, bringing Clark County’s total to 483,830 cases and 7,195 deaths.
Four other key metrics fell Friday: hospitalizations, the 14-day average new cases rate, the death rate and the 14-day positivity rate.
As of Friday, 859 patients were hospitalized in Clark County with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, down 50 from the day before. It was the first week with less than 1,000 patients since December.
The 14-day average new cases rate fell by 46, to an average of 662 new cases Friday. Tuesday was the first time the two-week moving average of daily cases dropped below 1,000 in months.
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.
The average is expected to continue falling as daily new cases plummet from their omicron peak.
Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada
The COVID-19 variant omicron was first detected in a Nevada test sample on Dec. 14. It hit its peak in Clark County when — on Jan. 7 — 6,110 cases were added.
The test positivity rate from the more contagious variant peaked at 38.2 percent before a quick drop to Friday’s 22 percent, down 0.8 percentage points from the day before.
The average daily deaths fell by one at the county and state level, bringing the new averages to nine and 13, respectively.
On Thursday, Gov. Steve Sisolak rescinded the statewide mask mandate in the face of declining case counts, but experts warned that removing that level of protection may lead to a jump in new cases.
“What we’ve seen historically is as we’ve removed mitigation measures, there has been an increase in cases that are occurring because that layer of protection isn’t in place anymore,” Kevin Dick, district health officer for the Washoe County Health District said Wednesday.
Following suit, the Clark County School District, the Regional Justice Center and the Nevada Gaming Control Board dropped their indoor mask mandates.
Masks will still be required in hospitals and clinics, and under the federal mandate on public transportation including airports and the Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse.
“There comes a time where you have to weigh the benefits of the mask versus the difficulties or the downside of wearing a mask, and today is the day that we decided that the scale tilts,” Sisolak said Thursday.
Parents at many schools across the valley rejoiced Friday morning, many claiming their children were welcome to wear a mask if they would like but the parents would prefer it be each child’s choice.
For many months, state officials were following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines on mask adherence. For a county to exit the high risk category, a state needed a seven-day average of less than 100 cases per 100,000 residents and a test positivity rate below 10 percent. As of Friday, the CDC showed Clark County had 247.32 cases per 100,000 residents and a seven-day test positivity rate of 17.8 percent.
Nevada added 919 new cases statewide Friday, summating 638,528 total cases. The closely watched moving average of new cases fell from 1,138 Thursday to 1,018 Friday.
Twenty-four more deaths were recorded, bringing the state’s total to 9,335.
The daily positivity rate fell by 0.9 percentage points, to 23.8 percent statewide.
The health care system had near-capacity numbers in January. As of Friday, 57 fewer people were hospitalized, bringing the total to 1,044.
More than 56 percent of Nevada residents 5 or older were fully vaccinated as of Friday, with the most vaccinated age group being residents in their 50s.
Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.
