Daily new cases of COVID-19 fell below 100 in Clark County for the first time since September, reaching some of the lowest reported levels since the pandemic began, according to data released by the state on Wednesday.
The 14-day average for confirmed daily new cases in the county fell to 93 from 104 the previous week, according to the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services. Statewide, the average fell to 123 from 132. Rapid home test results are not reported to the state, meaning the actual case numbers are significantly higher.
Case numbers have been falling in the US for weeks, despite the growing prevalence of a new, particularly transmissible omicron subvariant, XBB.1.5 – or “octopus,” as it’s known.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, XBB.1.5 accounts for an estimated 61 percent of all US cases. This is the first time its share has risen to more than half of US cases.
CDC estimates that in the region of the US that includes Nevada, XBB.1.5 accounts for 35 percent of cases.
New COVID-19 cases across the country fell 11.3 percent from the previous week, the latest CDC data shows. Health officials say most people have now built up some level of immunity to COVID-19 through vaccination or previous infections.
Nevada, Arizona, Washington and the District of Columbia are the only jurisdictions in the US that all have low-level community counties for COVID-19, a CDC designation based on case counts and hospitalizations.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are declining both locally and nationally.
Data from the Nevada Department of Health shows confirmed and suspected COVID-19 hospitalizations in Clark County fell to 128 from 226 in the previous week. Nationwide, hospitalizations fell from 248 to 161.
Nationwide, new COVID-19 hospital admissions fell 14 percent from the previous week, according to the CDC.
In Nevada, hospital admissions for COVID-19 remain relatively flat, the Nevada Hospital Association said. Nine percent of visits to hospital emergency departments, a proportion that has declined, are related to COVID-19 symptoms, the trade group said in a weekly report.
Nationwide, hospitalizations for other respiratory viruses, such as the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), continue to decline, the hospital association said.
The 14-day moving average for daily new COVID-19 deaths has fallen to zero in Clark County since last week. The national average remains one.
Contact Mary Hynes at [email protected] or 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on twitter.