Nevada adds 662 COVID-19 cases, 5 deaths as hospitalizations drop

Nevada recorded 662 new cases of COVID-19 and five additional deaths over the preceding day as the hospitalization figures for people with the disease continued to ebb, according to new state data published Monday.

The Department of Health and Human Services posted the new figures on its nvhealthresponse.nv.gov website, bringing the case total for the state to 61,976 and the death toll to 1,077. Reports from local health districts and counties put the case total somewhat higher, at 62,014 late Monday

New cases reported by the state were well below the daily average of 725 over the preceding week and fatalities were far below the daily average of 16 over the period.

The hospitalization picture continued to brighten, with 20 fewer suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients occupying hospital beds, according to the new data. The statewide total of 869 hospitalizations was well below the range of 1,100 to 1,165 seen in late July and early August.

“The hospital infrastructure remains in fair condition statewide, with 73 percent of hospital beds occupied, 60 percent of intensive care unit beds occupied and 37 percent of ventilators in use,” the Nevada Hospital Association said in an update.

The state’s infection or positivity rate, however, continued to tick higher, reaching 11.23 percent in Monday’s report. The rate, confirmed cases divided by the number of people tested, is now less than 1 percentage point below the highs of 12.2 percent recorded on both April 24 and 25.

The rate, considered a better barometer of the trend of the state outbreak than daily case or death tallies, declined steadily after that, reaching 5.20 percent on June 17. But it reversed course then and has been climbing ever since.

Caleb Cage, director of the state’s COVID-19 response, said at a briefing for reporters that the growth of the metric has slowed recently.

“To put in context, for over a month it was growing at rate of 0.1 percent per day,” he said. “Now we’re seeing 0.1 percent every three to five days.

Julia Peek, a deputy administrator with the state Division of Public and Behavioral Health, added that contact tracing and the fact that many local testing initiatives are focused on populations at greater risk, both of which are expected to produce more positive tests, also are contributing to the increase.

Peek noted that the state has now identified 10,208 confirmed cases as a result of contact tracing, or just over 19 percent of Nevada’s total.

The Southern Nevada Health District reported 591 new cases of COVID-19 and three additional deaths in Clark County over the preceding day.

Data posted on the district’s coronavirus web page increased the case total for the county to 53,458 and bumped the death toll to 913. The district estimates that 45,585 of those who contracted the illness have recovered.

New cases were below the daily average of nearly 640 over the preceding week, while fatalities were far below the daily average of nearly 15 for the period.

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.