Nevada adds 208 new COVID-19 cases, a dozen deaths

Nevada recorded 208 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 additional deaths from the disease over the preceding day, according to state data posted Wednesday.

Updated figures from the Department of Health and Human Services published on the nvhealthresponse.nv.gov website increased the state’s case total to 74,248 and the death toll to 1,494. Reports from local health districts and counties place the case total slightly higher, at 74,383 as of Wednesday night.

New cases reported by the state were well below the daily average of nearly 277 for the preceding week, while fatalities were slightly below the daily average of nearly 13 for the period.

The state’s cumulative infection or positivity rate, calculated by the Review-Journal as confirmed cases divided by the number of people tested, inched lower, declining 0.02 percent to 11.44 percent.

The rate, considered a better indicator of the trend of the outbreak than new cases or deaths, has declined by 0.19 percent from its recent peak of 11.63 percent on Sept. 4. That indicates the spread of the disease caused by the new coronavirus is slowing slightly.

Nevada, however, continues to have a higher positivity rate than the nation as a whole — 8.6 percent based on a seven-day moving average versus 5.3 for the U.S. overall, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.

The state showed some improvement on COVID-19 testing over the preceding day, with 4,971 tests logged, nearly twice as many as the 2,538 tests reported on Tuesday. But that was still far below the daily average of just over 6,094 tests from the preceding week.

Tuesday’s update also showed hospitalizations of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients increasing for a third straight day to 488.

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Despite the uptick, the Nevada Hospital Association said in an update Wednesday that the state’s hospitals continue to see “an appreciable downward trajectory in serious COVID-19 cases,”

“Relative demand placed on hospitals by COVID is now very low,” it said, estimating that COVID-19 patients are occupying about 10 percent of the state’s licensed hospital beds.

The Southern Nevada Health District, meanwhile, reported 125 new COVID-19 cases and 11 additional deaths from the disease in Clark County.

Numbers posted on the health district’s coronavirus webpage brought the case total in the county to 63,077 and the death toll to 1,298. The district estimates that 58,496 of those who contracted the disease have recovered.

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New cases were far below the daily average of just over 201 for the preceding week, while deaths were slightly below the daily average of nearly 12 over the period.

Clark County data is generally included in the state reporting, though discrepancies occasionally arise because of reporting issues.

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