Clark County’s daily count of COVID-19 cases increased in data released today, climbing to 469. That’s about 70% of the state’s 669 cases reported today.
Other COVID-19 indicators were stable, including the test positivity rate, which dropped slightly statewide and in Clark County.
Measures to fight the virus are progressing, but very slowly. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak was expected to get a COVID-19 booster shot this afternoon at University Medical Center in Las Vegas. The event was publicized to remind other Nevadans that the shots are available and play an important role in slowing the spread of COVID-19 cases.
Residents with school-age children are waiting to hear if the government will give final approval to vaccinated kids ages 5-11. An FDA panel voted Tuesday to recommend using Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids in that age group.
A look at current COVID-19 numbers:
CLARK COUNTY
- * New cases: 469 (total: 330,709)
- * Deaths: 12 (total: 5,947)
- * Test positivity rate: 6.0% (down from 6.1% the previous day)
NEVADA
- * New cases: 669 (total: 437,569)
- * Deaths: 23 (total: 7,600)
- * Test positivity rate: 6.8% (down from 6.9% the previous day)
The state is following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance on the mask rule. The mandate will remain in place in each county until the following conditions are met:
- * The COVID-19 test positivity rate must be below 8%
- * The case rate (per 100,000 population over 7 days) must be below 50 for two full weeks.
Test positivity in Clark County is at 6.0%. The current case rate for Clark County (per 100,000 over 7 days) is 103.4.
A BREAKDOWN OF CASES, DEATHS AND TESTING
Nevada’s case count grew by 669 in the past day, with 469 in Clark County. The state’s total cases are now at 437,569. Clark County has a total of 330,709. It’s important to note that the state no longer updates the dashboard on the weekend or holidays, which may be why Monday and Tuesday reports show higher case and death totals.
Nevada’s test positivity rate is at 6.8%, down from 6.9% the previous day. It fell below 5.0%, the World Health Organization’s goal, on May 17 and climbed above it on June 28. Clark County’s rate is at 6.0%, down from 6.1% the previous day.
Of the 23 additional COVID-19-related deaths, 12 were from Clark County. Southern Nevada now accounts for 5,947 of the state’s 7,600 deaths. The 14-day rolling average is 9 deaths per day.
As of Oct. 21, the Southern Nevada Health District reports there are 170 breakthrough deaths, 539 breakthrough hospitalizations and 10,601 breakthrough cases.
As of yesterday, a total of 5,232,496 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Nevada, with an increase of 11,524 since the previous day. The number of tests reported has gone up as more employers require employees to be vaccinated or go through weekly testing.
*NOTE: Daily lab data from DHHS and SNHD reports is updated every morning for the previous day.
TRACKING NV COUNTIES
The test positivity rate in Clark County has dropped below 8%, which takes the county off the state’s watch list for elevated transmission risk. If the county can sustain levels for test positivity and testing, state restrictions — including mask requirements — could be relaxed. A separate measure of the county’s case rate — currently 103.4 cases per 100,000 population over the past seven days — needs to drop below 50 for two straight weeks before the mask mandate can end.
In today’s report, 12 of Nevada’s 17 counties are still flagged for high transmission.
Clark County’s case rate (472 per 100,000 over the past 30 days) is flagged in data reported today. Test positivity rate (6.0%) and testing (341 tests per day per 100,000) are within the state’s acceptable range.
VACCINATION UPDATE
The state’s health department reports 3,283,601 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Nevada, as of Oct. 26.
As of today, 55.98% of Nevadans currently eligible for the vaccine are fully vaccinated, and 64.59% of the eligible population has initiated vaccinations. Clark County reports that 55.24% of its eligible residents are fully vaccinated.
A BREAKDOWN OF NEVADA HOSPITALIZATIONS
NOTE: The state is not updating hospitalization data on weekends or holidays.
According to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the number of hospitalized patients in Nevada was DOWN (-2) from the previous day.
The current number of hospitalizations is 622 confirmed/suspected cases. Hospitals reported 162 of those patients were in intensive care units, and 89 were on ventilators. To give some perspective, the state set a record high for hospitalized patients on Dec. 13 with 2,025 cases.
RECOVERY CASES IN SOUTHERN NEVADA
The number of people who have recovered from the virus in Southern Nevada continues to increase. The latest county update estimates a total of 315,098 recovered cases; that’s 95.3% of all reported cases in the county, according to SNHD’s latest report.
The health district provides a daily map with the number of positive tests in each ZIP code in Clark County.
MITIGATION MEASURES IN NEVADA
Nevada reopened to 100% capacity on June 1 and social distancing guidelines lifted, helping the state return to mostly pre-pandemic times, with some exceptions.
The CDC reversed course on July 27, saying fully vaccinated Americans in areas with “substantial and high” transmission should wear masks indoors when in public as COVID-19 cases rise. Most of Nevada falls into those two risk categories.
Nevada said it would adopt the CDC’s guidance with the new mask guideline that went into effect at 12:01 a.m. on July 30. This overrides Clark County’s employee mask mandate, which went into effect in mid-July.
On Aug. 16, Gov. Sisolak signed a new directive that allows fully vaccinated attendees at large gatherings to remove their masks, but only if the venue chooses to require everyone in attendance to provide proof of vaccination. Those who have just one shot and are not “fully vaccinated” would still be allowed to attend, as would children under 12, but both would need to wear masks.
Masks still must be worn when required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules and regulations, including local businesses and workplace guidance.