New COVID-19 cases in Clark County return to summer surge levels

Clark County on Wednesday reported more than 800 new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row, a sharp rebound to levels not seen since the summer surge of the disease was at its height in August.

The omicron variant, first detected in the county last week, is believed to be playing a part in this week’s wave of new cases. The Southern Nevada Health District said Wednesday that nine cases of the more-contagious mutant strain of the new coronavirus have been detected in the county, up from three on Monday.

Because only a small sample of positive tests are genetically sequenced, it’s likely that omicron — described as a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization — is far more prevalent than that figure would suggest, not just in Clark County but in Nevada.

Kevin Dick, district health officer for the Washoe County Health District, told reporters bluntly on Wednesday that officials in the Northern Nevada county “anticipate a rapid surge” of the disease there over the coming weeks.

In Clark County, the health district on Wednesday reported 837 new coronavirus cases and nine deaths during the preceding day. That pushed totals to 355,858 cases and 6,413 deaths.

New cases were well above the two-week moving average, which increased by six to 399 per day. Fatalities also were well above the two-week moving average in the county, which held steady at five per day.

On Tuesday, the health district reported 974 new cases of the disease caused by the new coronavirus, the most since it tallied 1,089 new cases on Aug. 17.

CDC gauge shows sharp jump

Another measure of the county’s case rate — the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s preferred seven-day moving average metrics, also has shown a sharp increase in the county this week. On Monday, the rate of new cases per 100,000 population stood at 158.91, but by Wednesday it had increased by nearly 30 cases per day to 188.78 per 100,000.

Other metrics for the county, however, improved in the daily update.

The number of people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 in the county decreased by 24, to 589.

The county’s 14-day test positivity rate, which tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 8 percent. That is in contrast to the CDC data, which shows the rate has jumped nearly a full percentage point from 10.14 percent to 11.11 percent since Monday.

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

Officials have warned that the rise of the omicron variant, with gatherings over the holiday season, probably will lead to an increase in cases into the new year. Preliminary studies of the variant have found that it’s highly contagious but may not produce serious cases as frequently as the delta variant, which remains the dominant strain.

Dick, the Washoe County health official, said omicron’s spread in other countries bodes ill for Nevada.

“Omicron is really removing any optimism at this time because of the explosion of cases that we’re seeing it’s causing worldwide,” he said.

The variant is already having an economic impact on Southern Nevada as several companies announced Wednesday they would not attend next month’s CES conference in Las Vegas because of concerns about its spread.

State reports 1K new cases

The state Department of Health and Human Services, meanwhile, reported 1,000 new COVID-19 cases and 15 deaths during the preceding day. That brought totals for the state to 472,739 cases and 8,354 deaths.

Nevada’s 14-day moving average of new cases increased by five to 504 per day. The two-week average for fatalities dropped by one to six per day.

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.

Of the state’s other closely watched metrics, the two-week test positivity rate held steady at 7.6 percent, while the number of people in Nevada hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases dropped to 674, 26 fewer than on Tuesday.

As of Wednesday’s report, state data show that 53.99 percent of eligible Nevadans 5 and older had been fully vaccinated, compared with 53.27 percent in Clark County. That number fluctuates widely throughout the state.

Carson City had the state’s highest vaccination rate, at 62.55 percent, as of Wednesday, while Storey County was the lowest at 20.56 percent.

Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.