The full COVID-19 report for Nov. 22-28 appears below.
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — COVID-19 hospitalizations in Clark County jumped by more than 15% over the past week as cases continue to increase during the holiday season.
Clark County’s COVID-19 patient load grew from 240 to 279 in weekly reports released on Wednesday, and statewide counts climbed from 285 to 340. The number of hospitalized patients has returned to levels last seen at the close of September, but the increase is happening as flu cases are rising.
The Nevada Hospital Association reports that the number of flu hospitalizations increased from 40 to 141 statewide over the past week.
The 14-day moving average (per 100,000 population) is now at 165 cases each day in the county, and 224 for the state. Both are small increases over last week — 3.7% in Clark County and 2.2% statewide. And while the increases are small, the numbers are increasing. There have been 1,851 new cases in Clark County over the past week and 2,295 statewide, according to data from the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.
It’s possible that cases could climb higher after Thanksgiving gatherings.
Case levels, like hospitalizations, are back to levels from late summer, when numbers were falling from a surge in cases that started in May and peaked in mid-June.
The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists Clark County at “low” community level, where it has been since Aug. 11. But climbing hospitalization and case rates could change that. Currently, Nye County, Lander County and White Pine County are at “medium” community levels. Neighboring Mohave County in Arizona is also at “medium.” Last week, White Pine County was at “high” community level.
And the virus continues to reinvent itself. Information from the Southern Nevada Health District shows that the dominant variant in Clark County’s cases over the past 30 days is now COVID-19 BQ.1.1 (30.0% of cases), followed by COVID-19 BQ.1 (22.5% of cases).
Six deaths were reported in Nevada, all from Clark County. Nevada’s total number of deaths from the pandemic now stands at 11,630, with 9,086 from Clark County.
Updates have stopped on the empower.unlv.edu page devoted to reporting on wastewater surveillance. We will continue to monitor for updates in the future.
If you have symptoms, get tested and avoid spreading the virus to others. If you haven’t been vaccinated, go to the Southern Nevada Health District’s website for information on getting a shot, or updating your immunity by getting a booster.
CLARK COUNTY
- New daily confirmed cases (14-day moving average, per 100,000 population) 165 — up from 159 the previous week.
- Total cases: 604,417*
- Deaths: 6 since last week (total: 9,086)
- Hospitalizations: 279 (up 39 from the previous week)
*-A difference in case counts exists between SNHD and the state. By SNHD’s current count, Clark County has had 586,821 cases as of this week.
NEVADA
- New daily confirmed cases (14-day moving average, per 100,000 population) 224 — up from 219 the previous week.
- Total cases: 796,882
- Deaths: 6 since last week (total: 11,630)
- Hospitalizations: 340 (up 55 from the previous week)
The county’s COVID-19 community level moved to “low” on Aug. 11, and has remained there, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.