Infection rate keeps climbing; 15 deaths added
Nevada recorded 994 new COVID-19 cases and 15 additional deaths over the preceding day, according to state data posted Monday.
Updated figures from the Department of Health and Human Services’ nvhealthresponse.nv.gov website increased the case total for the state to 51,199 and pushed the death toll to 847. Reports from local health districts and counties place the case total somewhat higher, at 51,226 as of Monday evening.
The number of new cases of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus reported by the state was above the daily average of nearly 912 over the preceding week, while the number of fatalities was slightly above the daily average of 14 over the period.
The state infection or positivity rate, considered a better barometer of the trend of the outbreak than the daily number of new cases and deaths, rose for the 26th straight day to reach 10.64 percent.
The rate, which is the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases divided by the number of people tested, declined steadily over a period of several months before bottoming out at 5.2 percent on June 17. It has risen every day but one since then, indicating an increase in the spread of the virus.
At a news briefing, Julia Peek, a deputy administrator for the division of public and behavioral health, said that a data-reporting issue had resulted in an unusually low number of tests being reported. She said state officials were working with the Health and Human Services Department’s data vendor to identify the issue, and she added that the state was not reporting a daily positivity rate because it would not be considered reliable under the circumstances.
The state agency also reported that 1,121 suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients were hospitalized as of Sunday, an increase of eight from the previous day.
The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the state has remained fairly flat since peaking at 1,160 on July 23, according to state data.
The Nevada Hospital Association said Monday that the number of hospitalizations has remained below a daily level of 1,200 for the past 14 days and that hospitals statewide have additional capacity.
However, the trade group said there are concerns in Southern Nevada, where “capacity is becoming more of a concern as all-cause hospitalizations increase and additional specialized staffing for emergency departments and intensive care units becomes difficult to obtain.”
“Current hospital levels are manageable if the situation remains the same and without the competing service demand of flu season,” it said.
“If circumstances change, putting additional pressures on the health care infrastructure, additional mitigation efforts in the south may become necessary.”
The Southern Nevada Health District, meanwhile, reported 919 new cases of COVID-19 and 14 additional deaths in Clark County.
The new cases brought the total for the county to 44,066 COVID-19 cases and the death toll to 702.
The number of new cases was slightly below the daily average of just over 936 cases for the preceding week, while the fatalities figure was slightly above the daily average of just under 13 for the period.
Contact Mike Brunker at mbrunker@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4656. Follow @mike_brunker on Twitter.