Nevada on Tuesday reported 1,178 new cases of coronavirus across the state and eight additional deaths the previous 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 263,972 cases and 3,792 deaths.
New cases and deaths were below the 14-day moving averages. The 14-day average of new daily cases dropped to 1,630 on Tuesday, while the two-week average of reported daily deaths was 18, a decrease of two from the previous day.
According to state data, the daily average of two-week deaths has been steadily decreasing since it peaked at 36 on December 30. The state redistributes the data after total daily announcements to better reflect the date of death, which sometimes causes trend lines to diverge from daily reports.
Although the average two-week mortality has declined, UNLV epidemiologist Brian Labus said on Monday that the latest mortality trends more accurately reflect the state of the pandemic weeks ago.
“I wouldn’t say the deaths show anything,” said Labus, who is part of the medical team that advises Governor Steve Sisolak. “That’s why I usually don’t follow them, because they don’t really say what’s going on. Tell what happened about a month ago. “
He said that although individual statistics have declined in recent days, this is to be expected.
“We will see fluctuations from one day to the next,” he said. “And for this data to really make sense, you need to step back and look at long-term trends. A good day or two really means nothing. “
Data Guide: Impact of COVID-19 in Nevada
The state’s two-week positivity rate, which basically tracks the percentage of people tested who are diagnosed with the disease, dropped to 20.8 percent on Tuesday, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous day. and its fourth consecutive daily reduction.
There were 1,716 people in Nevada hospitalized with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, an increase of 62 hospitalizations from the previous day, according to state data.
Across Nevada, 73 percent of all adult intensive care beds are occupied and 38 percent of all ICU patients are hospitalized for COVID-19, according to data from the Nevada Hospital Association.
But southern Nevada continues to have higher percentages of hospitalizations than the rest of the state. Intensive care beds for adults are 80% occupied in the region and 45% of all ICU patients in southern Nevada are hospitalized because of the coronavirus.
Clark County reported 952 new cases and seven additional deaths on Tuesday, according to data published on the Southern Nevada Health District coronavirus website. The updated figures raised the municipality to 202,471 cases and 2,873 deaths, included in the state totals.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at [email protected] or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Blake Apgar contributed to this report.