For the first time since June 19, Nevada on Saturday reported a fall below the 5 percent positivity rate that the World Health Organization says governments should hit for 14 consecutive days before starting to reopen.
The two-week positivity rate, which basically tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are confirmed to be infected, decreased by 0.2 percentage point to 4.9 percent. The rate was above 21% in January.
Brian Labus, an infectious disease epidemiologist and assistant professor at UNLV, said the decrease in the positivity rate is a major milestone, but not the end of the pandemic. He recommended that people continue to be vaccinated, as eligibility is open to all Nevadans over the age of 16 in early April.
“I’m more concerned with the big Las Vegas community than the Strip in terms of the risks of reopening,” said Labus. “It is important that people continue to wear masks and social distance while we work to slow the spread of this disease. People need to keep thinking every day about how they can keep themselves and others safe. ”
The state reported 271 new cases of coronavirus and 10 additional deaths, with both metrics remaining above recent averages for the third consecutive day, according to state data.
The updated figures published on the Department of Health and Human Services coronavirus website raised the total in the state to 300,951 cases and 5,171 deaths.
Nevada’s new cases were well above the 14-day moving average of 206 daily reported cases. Fatalities were also well above the two-week moving average of five a day, state data showed.
Despite recent above-average daily reports, all major disease metrics have been declining in the state since mid-January or earlier, health officials said.
State and local health agencies often redistribute data after reporting to better reflect the date of death or onset of symptoms, which is why the moving average trend lines often differ from daily reports and are considered better indicators of the direction of the outbreak. .
On Thursday, the data also showed 309 people in Nevada were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19. The number peaked at 2,126 on December 22, according to state data.
There were 213 new cases and five deaths reported on Saturday in Clark County. Cumulative totals for the county increased to 232,595 cases and 4,048 deaths.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that the Nevada test’s positivity rate fell below 5 percent for the first time on Saturday. He also incorrectly assigned state hospitalization data from Thursday to Saturday.
Contact Alexis Ford at [email protected] or 702-383-0335. follow @alexisdford on twitter.