LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nevada’s COVID-19 test positivity rate is now just one percent away from the World Health Organization’s goal of 5%, data released Wednesday shows.
The state’s test positivity rate is at 6.0% — down from 6.3% the previous day and still above the 5% WHO goal. The rate has steadily fallen fast since Jan. 14, when it was 21.6%.
Nevada reports 325 new COVID-19 cases, with 259 from Clark County. The state’s total cases are now at 297,147. Clark County has a total of 229,415.
Daily case totals have dropped below 1,000 since Jan. 30.
In the past day, 13 new COVID-19-related deaths were reported, all from Clark County. The totals now stand at 5,067 deaths in Nevada, and 3,960 deaths in Clark County.
Nevada’s 14-day rolling average is now five deaths per day.
Coronavirus vaccine data, updated every other weekday by the state’s health department, shows that more than 9% of the state’s population is vaccinated. A total of 296,522 Nevadans are fully vaccinated against the virus.
Hospitalizations are now below 400 COVID-19 patients in the state.
There were 6,639 tests performed in the last day, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Clark County was taken off the list of flagged Nevada counties on Wednesday, March 3, after 20 consecutive weeks. The county’s case rate — 340 per 100,000 over the past 30 days — remains above state goals, but testing (220 tests per day per 100,000) and the test positivity rate (6.4%) are now within state acceptable ranges.
Elko remains the only county flagged in the tracker, updated daily on the DHHS Dashboard.
VACCINATION UPDATE
The DHHS Office of Analytics added a “vaccinations” tab to its dashboard on Wednesday, Feb. 3. It provides updated immunization numbers every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Click HERE to see the dashboard. Be sure to click the “vaccinations” tab under the “Current Status” top tab.
The DHHS reports 837,802 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Nevada, as of March 9. Of the state’s total doses, 601,374 were administered in Clark County.
More than 9% of Nevada’s population has been vaccinated, so far.
To find out when and where you can expect to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, click HERE.
Below is the full COVID-19 report for Tuesday, March 9.
NEVADA HOSPITALIZATIONS
NOTE: The state is not updating hospitalization data, including the number of patients in ICU units or on ventilators, on Sundays or holidays.
According to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the number of hospitalized patients in Nevada was DOWN on Tuesday, according to data released Wednesday.
The number of hospitalizations decreased by 28 in the last day, and the current total is 367 confirmed/suspected cases.
(NOTE: Daily stats from the NHA will no longer be provided after Feb. 26. Going forward, a weekly update will be provided on Wednesdays.)
More information from the Nevada Hospital Association (as of March 3):
“The age of confirmed COVID-19 patients requiring hospitalization is declining,” according to NHA’s first weekly report. “For the past two weeks, hospitalizations of patients less than 70 years old have been increasing while hospitalizations of patients older than 69 has been declining. There are several hypotheses as to what may be contributing to this observation including the possibility of developed vaccine-related immunity. The NHA will be monitoring the age distributions of hospitalized patients weekly for the foreseeable future.”
NHA reports that the age group most commonly requiring hospitalization remains those 60-69 years old. Patients 50 or older continue to account for more than 70% of all COVID-19 hospitalizations.
As pressure on hospitals has eased, NHA’s weekly data now centers on COVID-19 patients:
- Statewide licensed beds occupied by COVID-19 patients: 10%
- ICU units occupancy rate by COVID-19 patients: 14%
- Ventilators in use by COVID-19 patients: 17%
The state set a record high for hospitalized patients on Dec. 13 with 2,025 cases.
| Top 5 | Number of Hospitalizations (statewide) | Date reported |
| 1 | 2,025 | Dec. 13 |
| 2 | 2,008 | Dec. 15 |
| 3 | 2,001 | Dec. 22 |
| 4 | 1,996 | Dec. 20, Dec. 21 |
| 5 | 1,988 | Dec. 29 |
ICU/VENTILATOR DATA FOR TUESDAY, MARCH 9:
There are 84 patients in intensive care units (ICU) across the state, down four from the previous day.
The DHHS report showed 43 patients on ventilators, down four from the previous day.
NEVADA CASES, TESTING, DEATHS
There are now 297,147 confirmed cases and 5,067 COVID-19-related deaths in Nevada, with 325 new cases reported in the last day.
Daily case totals have dropped below 1,000 since Jan. 30. The state set a record for COVID-19 cases on Jan. 6 with 3,402.
Here are the largest single-day increases for COVID-19 cases in Nevada:
| Top 5 | Number of COVID-19 cases (statewide) | Date reported |
| 1 | 3,402 | Jan. 6 |
| 2 | 3,194 | Dec. 4 |
| 3 | 3,159 | Nov. 24 |
| 4 | 3,063 | Dec. 8 |
| 5 | 2,988 | Dec. 22 |
The DHHS is reporting 13 new COVID-19-related deaths statewide. The 14-day rolling average of daily deaths now stands at five.
Nevada surpassed 5,000 deaths on March 3.
“Please keep in mind that the death rates we are seeing correspond to cases diagnosed up to 5 weeks ago,” Nevada Health Response stated in a news release.
A recent update to the state’s COVID-19 daily death graph (Mortality Trends tab of DHHS dashboard) shows the highest count of fatalities — 47 — on Dec. 22 and Jan. 11, followed by 45 deaths on Dec. 10, Dec. 18 and Jan. 9.
The Nevada DHHS says it is important to note that there is often a delay in death reporting. Cumulative daily death counts are displayed by the date of death, rather than the date the death was reported to the state. The total count for statewide deaths on the first tab may not equal the sum of the cumulative daily death counts because of cases where exact date of death is unknown or pending report.
Here are the highest number of COVID-19-related deaths recorded in a single day in Nevada:
| Top 5 | Number of deaths (statewide) | Date reported |
| 1 | 47 | Dec. 22, Jan. 11 |
| 2 | 45 | Dec. 10, Dec. 18, Jan. 9 |
| 3 | 43 | Dec. 6, Jan. 6 |
| 4 | 42 | Jan. 10, Jan. 20 |
| 5 | 41 | Dec. 29, Dec. 30, Jan. 12 |
As of Tuesday, a total of 2,789,405 tests have been conducted in Nevada, with an increase of 6,639 in the past 24 hours.
The test positivity rate, reported as a 14-day average, puts it at 6.0% as of Tuesday, down from 6.3% the day before.
The state’s test positivity rate fell below 10% on Feb. 20 and has continued to drop since Jan. 14, revealing a good sign Nevada’s mitigation efforts are working as most of the state’s COVID-19 data, including hospitalizations and cases, continue on a downward trajectory.
The World Health Organization advises governments that before reopening, rates of positivity in testing should remain at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.
*NOTE: Daily lab data from DHHS and SNHD reports is updated every morning for the previous day.
CLARK COUNTY CASES, TESTING, DEATHS
Of Nevada’s 325 new COVID-19 cases, about 80% of them — 259 — were reported in Clark County on Tuesday, according to data released by the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) on Wednesday.
There is now a total of 3,960 deaths, 229,415 confirmed cases and 13,709 hospitalizations, according to the Southern Nevada Health District dashboard that updates daily.
Southern Nevada surpassed 200,000 COVID-19 cases on Jan. 17.
There were 13 new deaths reported in Clark County in the last day. In its most recent report, the health district states that 170 people have died for every 100,000 people in Clark County.
SNHD data shows that 1,410 positive cases were reported in the county over the past seven days.
About a third of the cases (31.7%) reported in Clark County are among Hispanics, making it the most impacted ethnic group locally and nearly half (45.6%) of the positive cases reported in the county are in the age group of 25 to 49.
The SNHD is including the number of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in its daily report. Eleven cases were reported in January and 12 in February. So far in March, two new cases have been reported, with the latest on March 2, bringing the total to 56.
All of these cases were reported in children under the age of 14, and all of whom tested positive for COVID-19.
MIS-C is a condition where different body parts can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.
According to the health district, MIS-C is rare and is still being studied by the CDC to learn more about it and its impact on children. While there isn’t a known cause, many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19 or close contact with someone who did.
RECOVERY CASES
The number of people who have recovered from the virus in Clark County continues to increase. The latest county update estimates a total of 219,831 recovered cases; that’s 95.9% 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.
UNLV COVID-19 CASE UPDATE
UNLV updates its graph noting new cases at the end of each week.
According to the most recent report, two new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the last week, all among students, none involving staff, and no faculty members. A total of 744 cases, including both students and employees, have been recorded since UNLV began tracking COVID-19 data on March 25, 2020.
CLICK HERE TO SEE UNLV’S COVID-19 REPORT.
NEVADA COVID-19 MITIGATION EFFORTS
On Feb. 11, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak announced a “safe reopening plan” that begins on Monday, Feb. 15, with capacity limits being lifted to 35% or 50% for certain businesses and activities. This will be determined by risk-level.
Gatherings will also be capped at 100 people or 35% capacity, whichever is less, though large gathering plans may be submitted for events. No approvals for large gatherings will be provided before March 1.
The reopening plan expands capacity to 50% on March 15 at almost all businesses and activities, and on May 1, decisions will shift from the state to local authorities:
More detail:
Nevada is currently working with the third version of the vaccine playbook, which outlines the state’s plans to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine to its residents.
Gov. Sisolak is continuing to urge the public not to let up on mask-wearing and social distancing.
SEE ALSO: Previous day’s report
