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Nevada reports 565 new COVID-19 cases, 5 deaths on Wednesday

Updated October 21, 2020 - 6:48 pm

Nevada reported 565 new cases of the coronavirus and five more deaths Wednesday, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The updated numbers posted to the department’s coronavirus website brought totals in the state to 92,064 cases and 1,732 deaths.

The positivity rate, which is calculated by the Review-Journal as the number of cases divided by the number of people tested, rose to 11.96 percent Wednesday. The figure has been slowly rising since mid-September, when daily reports of cases also started increasing.

The number of deaths reported daily has been declining since mid-August, but increases in deaths typically lag several weeks behind increases in new cases.

The positivity rate over the past two weeks reported by the health district, which calculates the figure based on the number of tests, rose by 0.2 percent Wednesday, reaching 9.3 percent. State positivity rates produce lower figures because many people receive multiple tests, increasing the totals that the percentages are based on, which in turn lowers the percentage.

As of Wednesday, 769,613 people in Nevada have been tested, and 1,165,414 total tests have been administered, according to state data.

The Southern Nevada Health District on Wednesday reported 356 new cases in Clark County, along with four more deaths, according to the agency’s coronavirus website. The updated figures brought totals in the county to 76,244 cases and 1,487 deaths.

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

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