Nevada on Thursday reported 2,249 new cases of coronavirus and 45 additional deaths.
Updated figures published online by the Department of Health and Human Services raised the total in the state to 212,211 cases and 2,916 deaths.
The state’s two-week positivity rate, which had been dropping steadily for nearly two weeks, increased for the second consecutive day. The number increased by 0.2 percentage points to 19.9 percent.
The seven-day moving average of COVID-19 cases reported daily decreased slightly – dropping by four to 2,262.
Data guide: Impact of COVID-19 in Nevada
The seven-day moving average of deaths from the disease increased by three from the previous day, reaching 35. It was the first time in five days that the number increased.
The data showed 1,908 people hospitalized in Nevada with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19, down 93 from the previous day, according to state data. It was the lowest number of hospitalizations in the state in almost two weeks, since 1,854 were registered on December 11.
Southern Nevada had 1,492 people hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases on Thursday, 62 fewer than the day before, state data showed.
On Wednesday, the Nevada Hospital Association said in a statement that any increase in hospitalizations that occurred because of Family Day and Thanksgiving Day “has been fully realized”, since the almost daily increases were stopped about 10 days.
But hospitals remained “almost full” in the northern and southern sections of the state, the association said.
“This highlights the importance of staying diligent and supporting initiatives to stay home during the next vacation so that the facilities are not overloaded at the beginning of the new year,” said the statement.
There were 1,819 new cases reported in Clark County, with an additional 30 deaths, according to the Southern Nevada Health District coronavirus website. This raised the county total to 160,569 cases and 2,244 deaths.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at [email protected] or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on twitter.