Nevada’s COVID-19 metrics below par as positivity rate falls to 5.7%

Nevada public health officials on Monday reported 184 new coronavirus cases and three additional deaths.

Updated numbers from the state Department of Health and Human Services put Nevada’s cumulative totals at 299,471 cases and 5,121 deaths.

New cases were below the two-week moving average of 235 per day. Over the same period, Nevada averaged four deaths per day.

Health officials in many rural counties do not work on weekends, which can affect data reporting on Monday, the state’s COVID-19 response director has said.

Numbers posted to the state’s coronavirus data page showed 305 people with either confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 were hospitalized in the state. That’s an increase of five patients from the previous day, according to the web page.

The state’s two-week positivity rate, which essentially tracks the percentage of people tested for COVID-19 who are found to be infected, dropped 0.1 percentage point to 5.7 percent, according to state data.

All four major metrics tracked by the state have been trending lower since at least mid-January.

Meanwhile, Clark County’s 14-day positivity rate reached 6 percent Monday, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the previous day.

The county also reported 139 new cases, bringing the local cumulative case total to 231,416. All three deaths in the state reported on Monday were from Clark County, bringing the county death toll to 4,007.

County numbers are included in statewide totals.

Contact Blake Apgar at bapgar@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5298. Follow @blakeapgar on Twitter.