LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nevada reports a record 48 deaths in the past 24 hours and a COVID-19 test positivity rate that continues climbing — now at 18.1 percent.
Those higher numbers come even as hospitalizations dropped after nine consecutive days of increases. There are now 1,645 people hospitalized with confirmed/suspected cases of COVID-19 — down seven from Tuesday, when a record 1,652 people were hospitalized.
Even with that drop, record numbers were reported for ICU patients — 373 — and patients on ventilators — 215.
With 2,536 new cases reported — the sixth-highest total since the pandemic began — Nevada has now reported a total of 159,532 cases as of Wednesday. Clark County reported 1,854 positive tests on Wednesday, and a total of 121,863 positive tests.
The report of 48 deaths comes after yesterday’s report of 35 deaths — spikes that follow record reports of new cases about a week ago. Clark County reported 18 of the 48 deaths, evidence that the entire state is feeling the disease’s deadly effects.
Nevada’s single-day COVID-19 case record was set on Nov. 24, with 3,159 positive tests reported.
The continued climb of the test positivity rate is a sign that the high numbers are not letting up.
More than 1,000 coronavirus cases have been reported in Nevada in 29 of the past 30 days.
The state’s test positivity rate has grown to 18.1 percent, a record high. Nevada has continued an upward trend that has seen the rate climb sharply since the end of October.
According to Nevada Health Response, there were 17,759 tests performed on Wednesday.
For the seventh week in a row, Clark County was flagged for elevated disease transmission. Clark County remains in the red on Nevada Health Response’s “county criteria tracker.” The county was flagged for elevated disease transmission after meeting the criteria of high case rates and high test positivity. Clark is one of 16 counties flagged in the tracker, updated daily on the DHHS Dashboard.
Clark County has a case rate of 1,561 per 100,000, and a test positivity of 16.3 percent.
Below is the full COVID-19 report for Wednesday, Dec. 2.
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.
Nevada is continuing to see a resurgence in COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to the Nevada Hospital Association (NHA). Hospitalizations dropped Wednesday after nine consecutive days of record-breaking hospitalization cases.
According to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the number of hospitalized patients in Nevada was DOWN on Wednesday, according to data released Thursday.
The number of hospitalizations decreased by seven on Wednesday, bringing the current total to 1,645.
In its Dec. 1 report, the NHA noted: “Nevada’s COVID-19 hospitalizations have been steadily increasing since approximately September 12 when the confirmed case count was 345 through
December 1 when the confirmed COVID-19 count stands at 1,513. These increases have also translated into an increased burden being placed on hospitals with 9% of all admitted
patients having confirmed COVID-19 (12 Sept) to now 30% having COVID19 over the same time period.”
More data from the Nevada Hospital Association (as of Dec. 2):
- Statewide hospital occupancy rates: 84%
- ICU units occupancy rate: 69%
- Ventilators in use: 39%
The state set a record high for hospitalized patients on Dec. 1 with 1,652 cases.
| Top 5 | Number of Hospitalizations (statewide) | Date reported |
| 1 | 1,652 | Dec. 1 |
| 2 | 1,645 | Dec. 2 |
| 3 | 1,589 | Nov. 30 |
| 4 | 1,545 | Nov. 29 |
| 5 | 1,517 | Nov. 28 |
ICU/VENTILATOR DATA FOR WEDNESDAY, DEC. 2:
There were 373 patients in intensive care units (ICU) across the state Wednesday, up 19 from the previous day.
The DHHS report showed 215 patients on ventilators, up 13 from the previous day.
Both the ICU and ventilator patients were record highs for Nevada.
NEVADA CASES, TESTING, DEATHS
There are now 159,532 confirmed cases and 2,249 COVID-19-related deaths in Nevada, with 2,536 new cases reported in the last day — the sixth-highest number since the pandemic began.
More than 1,000 cases have been reported in Nevada in 29 of the past 30 days.
The DHHS is reporting 48 new COVID-19-related deaths statewide. The state is reporting a 14-day rolling average of 14 deaths daily.
It is important to note there is a delay in death reporting by both the state and county.
“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, page 3 of DHHS dashboard) shows Aug. 6 had the highest count of fatalities with 27, followed by 26 deaths on Aug. 5.
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.
The state set a record for COVID-19 cases on Nov. 24 with 3,159.
Here are the largest single-day increases for COVID-19 cases in Nevada:
| Top 5 | Number of COVID-19 cases (statewide) | Date reported |
| 1 | 3,159 | Nov. 24 |
| 2 | 2,912 | Nov. 27 |
| 3 | 2,853 | Nov. 23 |
| 4 | 2,698 | Nov. 30 |
| 5 | 2,542 | Nov. 25 |
The state’s health experts say as more COVID-19 tests are conducted, the state will see a rise in cases.
As of Wednesday, a total of 1,682,758 tests have been conducted in Nevada, with an increase of 17,759 in the past 24 hours. According to the state, a transition to a “testing encounters” methodology to account for people who receive both a rapid and PCR test on the same day will result in an overall decrease in the total reported number of tests by 3.8%.
With new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rising over the past several weeks, Nevada’s test positivity rate has risen above 10 percent. The test positivity is now being reported as a 14-day average, which puts it at 18.1% as of Wednesday. It reached 10% on Oct. 24 but before then, Nevada had not recorded a test positivity at or above 10% since Sept. 1.
*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 2,536 new COVID-19 cases, 1,854 of them were reported in Clark County on Wednesday, according to data released by the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD) on Thursday.
There is now a total of 1,817 deaths, 121,863 confirmed cases and 8,626 hospitalizations, according to the Southern Nevada Health District dashboard that updates daily.
Like Nevada, Clark County is experiencing a resurgence in hospitalizations.
There were 18 deaths reported in Clark County in the last day. In its most recent report, the health district states that 78.0 people have died for every 100,000 people in Clark County.
SNHD data shows that 9,882 positive cases were reported in the county over the past seven days.
More than a third of the cases (35.4%) reported in Clark County are among Hispanics, making it the most impacted ethnic group locally and nearly half (47.1%) 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. In the last three weeks, eight new cases have been added to the total of 19, including the latest case added on Nov. 24.
An additional eight cases have been added in November, bringing the total to 19. 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.
The number of people who have recovered from the virus in Clark County continues to increase. As of Tuesday, the county estimates a total of 103,110 recovered cases; that’s 84.6% 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 has changed the way it is reporting COVID-19 cases. At the end of each week, the university will update its graph noting new cases.
According to the most recent report, 23 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the last week, 15 among students, five involving staff, and three faculty members. A total of 484 cases, including both students and employees, have been recorded since UNLV began tracking COVID-19 data on March 25.
CLICK HERE TO SEE UNLV’S COVID-19 REPORT.
NEVADA COVID-19 MITIGATION EFFORTS
As Nevada sees an increase in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, Governor Sisolak is tightening restrictions and the mask mandate across the state. During a virtual press conference on Nov. 22, Sisolak announced his plan to implement a three-week “statewide pause” to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The pause took effect Tuesday, Nov. 24 at 12:01 a.m. and will last, a minimum, of three weeks.
Nearly two weeks before the statewide pause announcement, Gov. Sisolak pleaded with Nevadans to follow a “Stay at Home 2.0” order for two weeks. Sisolak said the state needed these two weeks to bring testing timelines down, catch up on contact tracing and relieve Nevada’s healthcare infrastructure.
During a press conference on Oct. 20, Gov. Sisolak said the state is starting to see a fall surge of COVID-19. He made it clear that it is not the time to let up on mask-wearing and social distancing.
Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak announced Tuesday, Sept. 29, that the group gathering limit will adjust to 250 people — five times the current limit of 50 people under COVID-19 regulations.
The change took effect Thursday, Oct. 1.
This means that many events can soon return to Nevada, including live performances and church services. WATCH: Gov. Sisolak raises cap on crowds to 250, effective Thursday.
Nevada is still continuing to get a handle on the COVID-19 pandemic, and is seeing progress with the downward trend of hospitalizations and cases. In August , Gov. Sisolak announced that Nevada’s new long-term plan will be state managed, but locally executed.
Here is a quick breakdown of how it works:
- Every week, the state will update the Elevated Disease Transmission Criteria for each county. That includes testing, case rates and positivity rates.
- Counties at high risk will need to create and implement an action plan that targets sources of infection and community spread.
For more on this new approach, click HERE.
After Gov. Sisolak extended Phase 1 restrictions of bars in Clark County on July 10, the Nevada COVID-19 Mitigation & Management Task Force voted Sept. 17 to allow Clark County bars, taverns, wineries, and similar businesses to reopen. The establishments reopened on Sept. 20. Nevada COVID-19 Mitigation & Management Task Force votes to allow Clark County bars, taverns to reopen
The state transitioned into Phase 2 of reopening on Friday, May 29, after a directive in mid-March that forced all non-essential businesses to close to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.
Nevada Health Response officials noted Tuesday, June 9, that Nevada’s COVID-19 data is showing an above-average daily increase in COVID-19 cases throughout the state. They are reminding Nevadans of precautionary measures that can be taken to minimize the spread of the virus such as staying at home when possible, wearing a face-covering in public, maintaining six feet of social distancing and keeping up with proper hand hygiene.
SEE ALSO: Wednesday’s reports
More coverage:
Timeline, graphics
and several maps
