COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations inch up in state, county

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations inched up this week in Clark County and statewide, while remaining at some of the lowest levels of the pandemic.

The 14-day average for daily new cases in Clark County increased slightly to 96 from the previous week’s 94. Statewide, the average increased to 135 from 128.

The number of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 hospitalizations increased to 152 in the county from 133 the prior week. Statewide, hospitalizations increased to 190 from 164.

Last week, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, Utah and the District of Columbia were the only U.S. jurisdictions with all counties experiencing low community levels of COVID-19, a federal metric based on cases and hospitalizations.

This week, Nevada’s White Pine County is experiencing moderate community levels; only Arizona, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Utah and District of Columbia have all counties at low levels this week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In Clark County as well as statewide, the 14-day average for daily new COVID-19 deaths decreased to zero from the prior week’s one.

Nationwide, new cases decreased by 1 percent, hospital admissions by 6 percent, and deaths by nearly 10 percent.

The highly transmissible omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 — nicknamed “kraken” by scientists after a mythological sea creature — now represents an estimated 75 percent of cases.

Despite the dominance of a variant that is thought to spread more easily than any prior strain, cases remain low because most people have built up some level of immunity through vaccination, prior infections or both, health authorities say.