Nevada adds 697 new coronavirus cases as positivity rate tops 8%

Nevada on Thursday reported 697 new coronavirus cases and two deaths as the state’s test positivity rate continued to climb.

Updated data posted by the state Department of Health and Human Services on the state’s coronavirus website pushed the state’s case total to 337,259 and showed the two-week moving average of new COVID-19 cases increasing to 369 per day.

The state’s death toll increased to 5,707. The deaths matched the two-week moving average of two per day.

Thursday’s update also showed the state’s two-week positivity rate, which essentially tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, continuing its recent surge, jumping 0.3 percentage points to 8.2 percent. The rate, which exceeded the 8 percent threshold for the first time since late February, has been increasing since it hit a recent low of 3.3 percent on June 9.

Clark County hospitalizations double

The data also showed that 613 people with either confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 were hospitalized in the state, an increase of 29 from the last update on Wednesday.

Hospitalization figures also have been growing since hitting a recent low of 209 on June 12 and also now are at levels last seen in February. In Clark County, the numbers have more than doubled in the past month, Candice McDaniel, deputy director of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, said at a news briefing Thursday.

State and county health agencies often redistribute the 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.

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

State officials stressed at the briefing that the state’s COVID-19 metrics are rising in parts of the state with lower vaccination rates, including Clark County and some rural counties. But as has been the case since the state fully reopened on June 1, officials said no new restrictions are currently under consideration.

The rise of the so-called delta variant continues to cause concern in Nevada, said Dr. Ellie Graeden, CEO of Talus Analytics, which is serving as a state consultant on the pandemic.

But she said the tools required to conquer the delta and other coronavirus mutations remain the same as before.

‘Our primary tool to prevent spread’

“The core message for what we do about these strains has not changed,” she said. “The same tools are critical for managing the delta variant as they are for every prior variant. And as will likely be true at least in the coming months, vaccination works. It works for all of these variants. And it’s our primary tool to prevent spread.”

The Nevada Hospital Association said Wednesday that the increase in COVID-19-related occupancy “appears to be contained in the southern part of the state … where Nevada has the most medical resources.”

But the trade group noted that as of Tuesday, “There is no current signal that indicates this increase is slowing down.”

“Unfortunately, vaccination uptake seems to be slowing down, and the majority of the hospitalized patients are reportedly unvaccinated people,” it said.

Much of the recent increases in cases, hospitalizations and the positivity rate has been driven by Clark County.

The Southern Nevada Health District reported 663 new cases in the county on Thursday, bringing the local cumulative case total to 263,144. It also reported both of the state’s deaths, bringing the number of deaths in the county to 4,517.

The county’s 14-day positivity rate also climbed from 8.7 percent to 9.2 percent.

County numbers are reflected in the statewide totals.

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