Two deaths added to Clark County COVID-19 toll, as cases continue to dipFree

Clark County Public Health confirmed two new COVID-19 deaths Wednesday morning, as well as 69 new coronavirus cases.

Wednesday marked the first deaths reported since Dec. 23. The two people who died were a man age 80 or older and woman in her 70s. Both had underlying health conditions. Clark County has recorded 139 confirmed and suspected COVID-19 deaths.

Clark County’s 69 new COVID-19 cases were the lowest daily total since Dec. 1. The county has seen a decrease in COVID-19 activity the last couple weeks, meaning that it’s likely the county dodged any Thanksgiving-related spikes.

On Tuesday, Public Health announced that Clark County has seen two consecutive weeks of drops in COVID-19 activity, with the current rate at 386.08 cases per 100,000 population over 14 days. 

The most recent batch of test data also showed that the percentage of positive tests has dipped slightly, from 12.27 percent to 10.66 percent. 

Clark County now has a total of 12,815 COVID-19 cases. The county has 647 active cases. There were 52 coronavirus patients hospitalized as of Wednesday morning, and another 10 patients awaiting test results.

While case counts have dropped recently, health officials still urge people to avoid New Year’s Eve gatherings. Christmas gatherings could also still cause a spike in cases diagnosed in the coming days and weeks.

Millions traveled last week for Christmas, according to Transportation Security Administration data. The New York Times reported that Sunday was the busiest airline travel day since March 15.