Clark County reports 61 new COVID-19 cases, 3 more deaths
by Mike BrunkerClark County reported 61 new cases of COVID-19 and three additional deaths over the preceding day, according to data posted Wednesday.
The updated figures from the Southern Nevada Health District pushed total cases reported in the county to 6,287 and raised the death toll to 332.
The district estimates that 4,931 of those patients diagnosed with the disease caused by the new coronavirus have recovered.
The number of new cases of the disease was well below the daily average of 97 over the preceding week.
The additional deaths were slightly below the daily average of nearly four over the same period.
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The hospitalization rate in the county — considered by public health experts to be a better indicator of the trend of the outbreak —registed another decline, dropping to 19.60 percent of those tested (excluding deaths).
The rate has been steadily declining after peaking at 27.50 percent on April 10 as testing for the disease has become more widely available.
Meanwhile, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported 117 new COVID-19 cases, bringing Nevada’s cases total to 8,114.
The state reported 5,692 tests for COVID-19 were recorded over the preceding day, slightly above the daily average of 5,590 over the preceding week.
Public health experts say the expanded testing of people with moderate to minor symptoms of COVID-19 — or no symptoms at all — is driving down the infection rate in the state. The infection rate, which stood at 6.6 percent as of Wednesday’s report, is considered a better indicator of the trend of the state outbreak.
The death toll remained unchanged at 396, according to data posted on the nvhealthresponse.nv.gov website. The state typically updates that figure in the late afternoon.
A headline on a previous version of this article misstated the number of new cases reported for Clark County.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.