Clark County COVID metrics paint mixed picture of outbreak’s direction

Clark County recorded 1,246 new COVID-19 cases and nine deaths over the preceding three days as metrics for the disease continued to paint a mixed picture of the direction of the outbreak, data posted Monday showed.

Updated figures from the Southern Nevada Health District for Friday through Sunday pushed totals for the county to 341,250 cases and 6,130 deaths from the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

New cases were slightly above the 14-day moving average with just over 415 per day when divided by three, while the longer-term measure jumped to 336 per day from 312 as of Friday.

Fatalities were below the two-week average of five per day when divided by three. The average was unchanged from Friday.

The county’s test positivity rate, which tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, declined by 0.1 percentage point from Friday’s report to 7 percent. The rate had risen over 13 straight daily updates before turning slightly lower on Saturday and Sunday, state data show.

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

Hospitalizations of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients stood at 553 as of Monday’s update, down by five from Friday. The Nevada Hospital Association reported last week that the number of COVID-19 patients in the county had risen by nearly 16 percent since Nov. 2.

All four key metrics have increased somewhat since the beginning of November, raising concerns that the county could be in the early stages of another surge. State and local public health officials have not yet identified the uptick as a surge but say they are monitoring the situation closely.

The state Department of Health and Human Services, meanwhile, reported 1,598 new COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths from Friday through Sunday.

Updated figures pushed state totals to 453,771 COVID-19 cases and 7,930 deaths, according to state data.

Divided by three, new cases over the period stood at nearly 533 per day, which was well above the two-week moving average of 493 per day. The average rose by 20 cases per day from Friday’s update, when it stood at 473.

Fatalities divided by three were below the two-week average of six per day, while the average dropped by 2 from Friday, according to state data.

It said 688 confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients were occupying beds in state hospitals, down 27 from Friday’s report.

The state’s test positivity rate stood at 7.7 percent on Monday, unchanged from Friday.

The state COVID-19 vaccination rate appeared to dip sharply on Monday, but only because of a change in the way the data is reported. As of Monday, vaccination figures include children in the 5-11 age bracket, who only became eligible for the shots early this month. Not surprisingly, Nevadans in this age group are not yet as vaccinated as those in other age groups.

As of Monday, the state data showed that 52 percent of the eligible population are considered fully vaccinated, versus 51.26 percent in Clark County.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported the daily and total numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Clark County.

Contact Mike Brunker at mbrunker@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4656. Follow @mike_brunker on Twitter.