The full COVID-19 report for April 5-11 appears below.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Clark County reported 356 COVID-19 deaths in its weekly update, a concerning “catch-up” as people watch rising case numbers in other states and wonder if they are safe from the virus.
In what the Southern Nevada Health District describes as a “reporting backlog and comprehensive data review,” 306 deaths were added to the 50 counted over the past week. Some of the overlooked deaths go back as far as January of 2021, but 130 of the additional deaths occurred this year — 66 in January and 56 in February.
“The review included performing a data linkage between cases reported in the system and death certificate data,” SNHD officials said in a Wednesday news release.
Numbers released Wednesday by SNHD and the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services show cases have risen slightly over the past week. The state average shows Clark County at 91 new cases confirmed each day (a 14-day average). That compares to 87 last week. Statewide, the average was 114, up from 112.
In contrast, Philadelphia is reporting over 1,000 new cases per day. Officials there have reinstated mask mandates starting April 18 as case numbers grew by 50% in 10 days.
The wastewater surveillance system indicates elevated levels of the virus have been detected at Las Vegas and Henderson monitoring sites. The town of Beatty is also showing higher levels of the virus.
Omicron remains the only variant present in Nevada, according to the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory. In Clark County, the stealth version of omicron (BA.2) is now the dominant strain, accounting for 58.7% of cases sequenced.
Nevada reports 365 COVID-19 deaths over the past week, inflated by the backlog from Clark County — and the statewide death toll is now 10,501. Deaths are often reported weeks after they actually happen.
Hospitalizations in Clark County decreased by 18 to 111 during the 7-day reporting period (Tuesday, April 5-Monday, April 11). A weekly update from the Nevada Hospital Association indicates COVID-19 patients are not putting a strain on hospitals.
A weekly update from the Nevada Hospital Association said flu is becoming a concern, but no patients have required intensive care at this time. “COVID-19 has yet to be fully resolved in Nevada; however, the number of confirmed hospitalized patients (70 as of Tuesday, April 12) has remained less than 100 since April 6, 2022.”
Reporting has switched to a once-a-week update provided by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD). Conflicts continue between reports from the two agencies, and DHHS data is used here when that happens.
The state reports 660,148 cases since the pandemic began, 497,357 from Clark County.
A look at vaccinations shows that 57.08% of all eligible Nevadans are now fully vaccinated. Statistics show that 67.91% of the population has initiated vaccination. Approval for a second booster dose has been approved for people 50 and older, and people age 12 and older who are immunocompromised.
COVID-19 vaccines, available for free, greatly reduce the chance of severe illness or death.
CLARK COUNTY
- New daily confirmed cases (14-day moving average): 91 — up from 87 last week
- Total cases: 497,357*
- Deaths: 355 since last week (total: 8,181)
- Hospitalizations: 111 (-18 since last week)
*-A difference in case counts exists between SNHD and the state. SNHD has reported for several weeks that it is working to address the difference. By SNHD’s current count, Clark County has had more than 500,000 cases as of this week.
NEVADA
- New daily confirmed cases (14-day moving average) 114 — up from 112 last week
- Total cases: 660,148
- Deaths: 365 since last week (total: 10,501)
- Hospitalizations: 126 (-37 since last week)
The state and county are now providing weekly updates on COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations. Data released today includes information collected from Tuesday, April 5, through Monday, April 11.