Below is the full COVID-19 report for Dec. 29.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Clark County posted its fifth-highest daily case total since the pandemic began — 2,366 cases — in data released today. Nevada had a total of 2,927 new COVID-19 cases. That’s the sixth-highest total statewide for cases in a single day.

The county’s test positivity rate continues its rapid climb, jumping to 11.1%. The state overall followed the county’s trend, going up to 10.1%.

About four out of every five of Nevada’s new COVID-19 cases were reported in Clark County.

Nevada hospitals are at about 77% occupancy, according to the Nevada Hospital Association, and hospitals continue to handle the load. About 15% of all patients in the state have COVID-19, and about 17% of intensive care beds are used by COVID patients.

The number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 dropped in today’s counts.

The omicron variant now accounts for 19% of the cases in Clark County over the past 10 days, according to the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory.

Nevada reported 13 deaths, 10 from Clark County.

Test results from at-home test kits are not included in the data.

A look at current COVID-19 numbers:

CLARK COUNTY

  • New cases: 2,366 (total: 366,051)
  • Deaths: 10 (total: 6,461)
  • Test positivity rate: 11.1% (up from 10.1% the previous day)
  • Hospitalizations: 753 (down 21 from the previous day)

NEVADA

  • New cases: 2,927 (total: 484,641)
  • Deaths: 13 (total: 8,420)
  • Test positivity rate: 10.1% (up from 9.3% the previous day)
  • Hospitalizations: 879 (down 16 from the previous day)

The graphs below show the test positivity for the state (first image), followed by Clark County’s test positivity rate.

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. A rating above 100 cases per 100,000 individuals or higher is considered “high” transmission risk, while 50-99.99 per 100,000 is considered “substantial” by the CDC. The county must reach “moderate” for two full weeks.

Test positivity in Clark County is at 11.1%, up from 10.1% the previous day. The current case rate for Clark County is “high” at 370.3, according to the Southern Nevada Health District.

Nevada’s test positivity rate is at 10.1%, up from 9.3% the previous day. It fell below 5.0%, the World Health Organization’s goal, on May 17 and climbed above it on June 28.

Of the 13 additional COVID-19-related deaths reported in Nevada, 10 were from Clark County. Southern Nevada now accounts for 6,461 of the state’s 8,420 deaths. The 14-day rolling average is at 5 deaths per day.

As of Dec. 22, the Southern Nevada Health District reports there are 246 breakthrough deaths (+6), 830 breakthrough hospitalizations (+27) and 16,739 breakthrough cases (+1,070). (Increases are compared to numbers reported on Dec. 16.)

As of yesterday, a total of 5,911,567 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Nevada, with an increase of 25,821 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 risen to 11.1%, which puts the county back on the state’s watch list for elevated transmission risk.

In today’s report, seven of Nevada’s 17 counties are flagged for high transmission.

Clark County’s case rate (877 per 100,000 over the past 30 days) and test positivity rate (11.1%) are flagged in data reported today. Testing (314 tests per day per 100,000) is within the state’s acceptable range.

VACCINATION UPDATE

The state’s health department reports 3,950,277 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Nevada, as of Dec. 29.

As of today, 54.39% of Nevadans currently eligible for the vaccine are fully vaccinated, and 64.25% of the eligible population has initiated vaccinations. Clark County reports that 53.70% 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 since the previous day.

The current number of hospitalizations is 879 confirmed/suspected cases. Hospitals reported 189 of those patients were in intensive care units, and 108 were on ventilators. To give some perspective, the state set a record high for hospitalized patients on Dec. 13 with 2,025 cases.

The graphs below show hospitalizations in Nevada (first image) and in Clark County:

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 341,121 recovered cases; that’s 93.2% of all reported cases in the county, according to SNHD’s latest report.

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.

State approval for vaccinating children 5-11 years old was given on Nov. 3, with plans by the Southern Nevada Health District to begin vaccinations on Nov. 10. The Pfizer vaccine is the only vaccine approved for children at this time.

SEE ALSO: Previous day’s report