126 new coronavirus cases, 3 deaths reported in Clark County

The Southern Nevada Health District reported 126 new coronavirus cases and three additional deaths in Clark County as of Tuesday morning.

The data, reported on the health district’s website, shows totals of 6,845 cases in the county and 346 deaths.

There have been 5,390 people diagnosed with the illness who have recovered, according to the health district.

Public health experts say the hospitalization rate for the county gives a better indication of the trend of the outbreak than daily cases of deaths, which fluctuate considerably. As of Tuesday, the rate stood at 18.54 percent, excluding deaths. It has been steadily declining since peaking at 27.50 percent on April 10.

The first child 4 or younger has been hospitalized in Clark County, according to the health district’s daily report. Eight children ages 5 to 17 have been hospitalized.

There were 8,857 cases in Nevada as of Tuesday night.

The number of reported deaths in the state decreased by one, from 421 on Monday to 420 on Tuesday.

Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Shannon Litz said in an email Tuesday that the number of deaths decreased after it was discovered one person who died wasn’t a Nevada resident.

“As noted on the Dashboard, data may change or a case may be removed if it is determined a person is from out of state,” she said.

The state revises its daily statistics in an effort to more accurately show when cases occurred rather than when they were reported, so the daily totals reported often do not match the revised figures.

The infection rate — the percentage of positive cases among those tested — continued to decline, reaching 5.81 percent on Tuesday. The rate, considered a better indicator of the trend of the outbreak in Nevada, has been steadily declining since peaking at 12.2 percent on April 24-25.

Four additional cases that represent “older results” were added to Nye County’s numbers on Tuesday, bringing the number of cases in the county to 65, officials said.

The four cases were “from Las Vegas testing” numbers, but the people tested live in Pahrump, said county spokesman Arnold Knightly. The data change comes after two cases were removed from county totals on Monday after the people tested were determined to live elsewhere.

In other developments Tuesday:

■ Washoe County reported an additional 21 cases, bringing the total in the county to 1,606. The number of deaths remained at 61, and 982 people have recovered as of Tuesday.

■ There are now 29 Metropolitan Police Department employees who have tested positive for the virus, according to the department’s website, which was last updated Monday. The website listed 249 employees who have received a test, 212 who have tested negative and eight who are awaiting results.

■ State data shows that as of Tuesday, 23 employees with the Nevada Department of Corrections have tested positive for the virus, along with five state prisoners. Lovelock Correctional Center, which had its first case of a staff member reported on Monday, showed two additional cases among the prison’s employees on Tuesday.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.