Nevada sees biggest 1-day jump in new COVID-19 cases since Jan. 22

Nevada on Friday reported the highest single-day increase in new coronavirus cases in nearly eight months as recent declines in most other longer-range state COVID-19 metrics stalled, according to state data.

The state Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,552 new cases over the preceding day, the highest one-day total since Jan. 22, when the agency logged 1,869 cases, according to records maintained by the Review-Journal. That doesn’t include case totals recorded following weekends when the state no longer reports daily data.

The agency also recorded an additional 21 deaths across the state on Friday. The new figures pushed state totals to 401,901 cases and 6,702 deaths.

New cases remained higher than the moving two-week average of daily reported cases, which increased from 859 to 876. The metric has been trending lower since August, but Friday was the first time in a week it has increased.

Deaths were also well above the average of 11 recorded deaths a day during the same time period. The average, which remained unchanged Friday, has been fluctuating in recent weeks but remains below its recent high of 17 on Aug. 18.

State and county health agencies often redistribute 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.

The number of deaths recorded weekly in Nevada has been decreasing in recent weeks, from 153 the week of Aug. 22 to 150 the week of Aug. 29. As of Friday, there have been 119 deaths recorded in the state this week. Weekly death counts are now at similar levels to late February, when the winter surge was decreasing.

Data guide: COVID-19’s impact on Nevada

The state’s two-week test positivity rate, which essentially tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, remained unchanged at 12.2 percent.

The rate rose steadily after hitting a low of 3.3 percent on June 9, but has dropped more than 4 percentage points from its recent peak of 16.4 percent on Aug. 13.

The state also reported 1,105 people in Nevada were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, which is 10 fewer than the day prior. Hospitalization figures have fluctuated recently, but have been trending lower since reaching a peak of 1,317 reported on Aug. 11.

As of Thursday, Nevada has recorded 600 cases where a fully vaccinated person has tested positive for COVID-19 and has then required hospitalization. Of those, 134 people who have been hospitalized with a “breakthrough case” have died, which represents about 2 percent of all fatalities, according to state data.

Of all the breakthrough cases requiring hospitalization, 65 percent are people 70 or older.

Clark County this week did not report updated breakthrough case data.

As of Friday, 53.05 percent of eligible Nevadans 12 and older have been fully vaccinated, which is 0.82 percentage points higher than last week, state data shows.

Clark County on Friday reported 802 new coronavirus cases and 14 additional deaths, according to data posted to the Southern Nevada Health District’s coronavirus website.

Cumulative totals in the county rose to 309,977 cases and 5,339 deaths.

The county’s two-week test positivity rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points, reaching 10.1 percent, state data shows.

Test positivity rate continue to be higher in North Nevada when compared to the southern portion of the state. Washoe County’s rate increased by 0.1 percentage points on Friday, reaching 19.5 percent. That’s nearly 3 percentage points higher than the statewide peak during the current wave of the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.