Clark among Nevada counties flagged as ‘at risk’ for COVID-19 spread

Clark County is one of eight in the state at risk for elevated transmission of the coronavirus due to high case and test positivity rates, a designation that requires officials to submit an action plan to reduce its spread, the state said Friday.

The counties were flagged by the Nevada Health Response Team for meeting two or more criteria laid out in the state’s road to recovery plan.

According to state data, Clark County’s 1,006 cases per 100,000 people and 16.1 percent test positivity rate over the past two weeks exceeded the thresholds in the recovery plan of 200 cases per 100,000 residents and test positivity rates of 7 percent.

The county was not flagged for the third criteria, the average number of tests per day per 100,000 people. It had 290.1 over the period, well above the threshold of 150.

Failing to meet two of the three metrics in the state recovery plan places the county in the “at risk” category.

All the counties flagged by the state — Clark plus Carson City, Elko, Humboldt, Lander, Lincoln, Nye and Washoe counties — must now submit an action plan for review and approval by the Nevada Health Response Team, a group consisting of key state and local officials.

The plans will include assessments of critical statewide metrics, as well as recommendations to address the assessments, including hospital capacity, access to personal protective equipment, testing capacity, contact tracing, protection of vulnerable populations and enforcement of public health rules, according to the state.

If a county is flagged again next Thursday, meaning it again meets two or more of the at-risk criteria, it must enact the approved plans by the next day. If a county falls short on less than two criteria, it will not need to take any immediate action, the state said.

The warning follows Clark County’s designation by the White House last month as a “red zone” for the virus and a subsequent request by Gov. Steve Sisolak for heightened action plans from local governments within the county.

Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ on Twitter.