Clark County adds 99 new cases, 7 deaths to COVID-19 toll

The new positive tests for the disease caused by the new coronavirus, which raised the total number of reported cases in the county to 5,144, was an improvement over the past two days, when the health district tallied 176 and 107 new cases, respectively. But it remained above the daily average of nearly 82 cases in the preceding week.

The district estimates that 4,305 of those patients have recovered.

The new fatalities, which increased the county death toll to 282, was slightly above the average of just over five per day in the preceding week.

Public officials have said they anticipated the number of new cases reported each day would climb as testing for coronavirus infections became more widespread. That has occurred this week, with more than 3,000 tests administered on three of the past five days, according to new state data posted Thursday.

Experts say that the infection rate, which has been falling steadily for weeks in the state, and deaths and hospitalizations, which have been mostly flat, will be more accurate indicators of the status of the outbreak.

The state Department of Health and Human Services data posted on the nvhealthresponse.nv.gov website showed the state added 105 new COVID-19 cases in the preceding day, raising the total for Nevada to 6,499. Local health districts and county officials indicate the count is higher, with 6,605 cases reported. Such discrepancies are common because of the differing reporting cycles between the local agencies and the state.

The state also added 18 deaths to the 321 it reported late Wednesday, raising the death toll in Nevada to 339. The department typically distributes those cases over several days to reflect when they actually occurred, so day-to-day increases do not always match the daily numbers reported by the agency.

While the number of new cases continues to fluctuate, the state data shows that the infection rate in Nevada has been steadily declining, likely as a result of the stepped up testing. With 69,484 people tested as of Thursday, that translates to an infection rate of 9.35 percent. That is the lowest percentage reported since April 23, when the state rate peaked at 12.66 percent, according to data compiled by the Review-Journal.

In other developments Thursday:

— Public officials in Washoe County reported 22 new COVID-19 cases and two additional deaths. The cases brought the total reported in the county to 1,154, of which 575 are reported as recovered. The fatalities of a man in his 50s and a man in his 70s, both of whom had underlying health conditions, raised the county’s death toll to 45.

— The Quad-Counties Emergency Operations Center, which covers Carson City and Douglas, Lyon and Storey counties, reported six new cases of the disease, including the first reported case in Storey County. The agency said the new cases were three males and two females from Carson City who ranged in age from under 18 to in their 40s, as a Storey County man in his 40s. The agency offered no other details on their conditions or whether they had underlying health conditions. The cases pushed the case total for the region to 134, of whom 87 are reported as recovered. It also has recorded two deaths.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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