New COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations rise slightly in Clark County

New COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rose in Clark County over the preceding three days, while deaths and the test positivity rate in the county extended recent improvements, according to local and state data posted Monday.

Figures posted by the Southern Nevada Health District for the state’s most populous county showed 936 new COVID-19 cases and 16 deaths since Friday’s report.

That pushed county totals to 329,942 COVID-19 cases and 5,916 deaths.

Averaged over three days, the county tallied 312 cases per day, above the 14-day moving average of 298 per day. The average itself edged higher, however, climbing four cases per day from the prior update.

Fatalities in the county were slightly above the 14-day average of five per day, while the average dropped by one from the previous report.

Hospitalizations of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients in the county increased by six from Friday’s report to 498, according to state data.

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The county’s test positivity rate, which tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, declined another 0.1 percentage points to 6.2 percent.

All four key metrics have plunged since mid- to late-August, but the declines have not always been steady. That’s especially true after weekends, when reporting from some of the state’s 17 counties tends to lag.

Both 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 state Department of Health and Human Services, meanwhile, reported 1,378 new COVID-19 cases and 24 deaths across Nevada since Friday’s report.

New cases were just over 459 per day when averaged over the three days, below the 14-day average of 490 per day. The average, however, registered its second straight increase, jumping by 10 cases per day from Friday.

Deaths were right at the 14-day average of eight per day when averaged over three days, while the average dropped from 10 in Friday’s report, the state data showed.

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Hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients around the state stood at 683, 21 more than in Friday’s report.

The test positivity rate remained unchanged from Friday at 7.1 percent.

As of Monday’s report, 55.8 percent of the state’s eligible residents 12 and older had been fully vaccinated, up from 55.58 percent in the previous report. the state said. The state’s rate remained slightly above that of Clark County, where 55.05 percent are now fully vaccinated, the state data showed.

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