COVID-19 continues decline in Clark County, Nevada

For the seventh straight week, COVID-19 hospitalizations and confirmed cases continue to fall in Clark County and statewide.

Hospitalizations, considered one of the best indicators of disease trends, declined in Clark County over the past week to 155 from 178, according to data released by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday. Statewide, they dipped to 191 from 235.

“Neither COVID-19 nor monkeypox is impacting the Nevada health care system at this time,” according to the Nevada Hospital Association.

Confirmed cases in the county declined to 214 from 244. Statewide, they declined to 277 from 330.

“We are in control mode now. We’re controlling the disease,” said Cassius Lockett, director of disease surveillance and control for the Southern Nevada Health District.

The state remains at low COVID-19 levels for a second week, as determined by hospitalizations and case counts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Analysis of wastewater, which serves as an early indicator of disease trends, shows declining levels of the virus across Southern Nevada, said Daniel Gerrity, principal research microbiologist for the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

The pattern is similar to ones observed in 2020 and 2021, with cases declining at the end of each summer. However, new variants of the virus then resulted in surges later each year.

At this time, however, wastewater analysis is not showing an increase in new variants BA.4.6 or BA.2.75, said Edwin Oh, an associate professor at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV. These variants are thought to spread more easily.

In total, there have been 774,980 cases of COVID-19 in Nevada and 11,375 deaths. In Clark County, there have been 590,685 cases and 8,894 deaths.

Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on Twitter.