Nevada’s key COVID metrics continue to fall, but deaths remain high
Nevada reported 1,078 new COVID-19 cases and 48 deaths from the disease over the preceding day, according to state data posted Thursday.
The new figures posted by the Department of Health and Human Services brought the state’s cumulative total of cases to 274,952 and deaths to 4,181.
New cases were slightly below the 14-day moving average of 1,082 per day, while fatalities were far above the daily moving average of 18 over the period.
The state’s positivity rate, essentially the percentage of people tested who are confirmed to have the disease caused by the new coronavirus, declined for the 15th straight day to 18.3 percent, down three-tenths of a percentage point from the previous day, the data show.
Data: How the coronavirus is impacting Nevada
The number of patients hospitalized across the state with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases also dropped by 78 to 1,322. That figure has been falling fairly steadily since it peaked at 2,126, according to the state.
At an online meeting of the state’s COVID-19 Mitigation and Management Task Force on Thursday, state biostatistician Kyra Morgan said Nevada has been experiencing “a sustained downward trajectory since about January 8.”
“Average daily news cases is about 1,144. Last week that was just under 1,500. So you can see the improvement there,” she added.
“This is really the first time we’ve seen a sustained downward trajectory in this peak or this wave,” Morgan said, while noting that while declining, numbers of cases, hospitalizations and related deaths all remain high.
She also estimated that by next week data will show that deaths also are declining.
Clark County, meanwhile, reported 872 new COVID-19 cases and 43 deaths over the preceding day on Thursday, according to the Southern Nevada Health District. That pushed the cumulative totals for the county to 211,453 cases and 3,207 deaths.
Contact Mike Brunker at mbrunker@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4656. Follow @mike_brunker on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Mary Hynes contributed to this report.