Nevada COVID-19 metrics tick higher as positivity rate hits 3.9%
Nevada on Tuesday reported 386 new coronavirus cases and seven additional deaths over the preceding day as the state’s test positivity rate continued its recent climb.
Updated figures posted to the Department of Health and Human Services’ coronavirus website brought totals in the state to 329,915 COVID-19 cases and 5,653 deaths.
New cases remained well above the moving 14-day average of daily reported cases, which increased slightly to 153. Deaths also were higher than the moving average of two fatalities daily over the same period.
State officials have said that it is normal for daily figures to be higher than the moving averages due to delayed reports and redistributed data. State and county health agencies frequently redistribute the 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.
The state reported three fewer deaths on Monday than the 5,649 it registered on Friday. It was not immediately clear if the death count on Tuesday included a correction of that data.
The state’s two-week the positivity rate, which essentially measures the percentage of people tested who were found to be infected with the virus, increased by 0.2 percentage points to 3.9 percent.
The rate has risen more than half a percentage point since it hit a low point of 3.3 percent on June 9.
The positivity rate for Clark County also increased by 0.2 percentage points to 4.0 percent.
Clark County also reported 348 new coronavirus cases, according to data from the Southern Nevada Health District’s coronavirus website. All of the deaths reported in Nevada on Tuesday occurred in the county.
Cumulative totals for Clark County rose to 256,415 cases and 4,464 deaths.
County numbers are reflected in the statewide totals.
Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.