Clark County’s rate of COVID-19 infections rose slightly this week, for the second week in a row. The county remains in the low-risk category for disease transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on its current number of cases, hospitalizations and overall hospital occupancy.
The COVID-19 activity rate, which measures new cases per 100,000 population over seven days, rose from 43.3 last week to 46.9 as of Thursday, according to Clark County Public Health data.
However, the overall trend remains downward. “In Clark County, the case rate is slowly decreasing,” Dr. Alan Melnick, director of Clark County Public Health, said at the Clark County Board of Health meeting on Wednesday. “One month ago the case rate was 71.9, so it is going down slowly compared to the peak.”
Public Health reported 253 new cases this week, pushing the total recorded cases to 107,070 to date. Seven new deaths were reported this week, bringing county totals to 958. Deaths are typically reported 10 to 12 days after they occur, according to Public Health.
“We’re definitely under-measuring the percent of the seven-day case rate,” Melnick said in the meeting, attributing it to under-reporting from at-home tests.
Clark County hospitals remain near capacity with 96.8 percent of hospital beds and 92.9 percent of intensive care beds occupied.
Patients with or suspected of having COVID-19 occupied 10.2 percent of hospital beds, up from 8 percent last week, while 7.1 percent of ICU beds were occupied by patients with or suspected of having COVID-19, down from 14.3 percent last week.
Hospitals in Clark County were treating 57 people with or suspected of having COVID-19 as of this week, up from 42 last week and 41 the week before. The rate of new hospital admissions over seven days rose to 6.6 per 100,000, up from 5.2 last week.
If you test positive for COVID-19 with an at-home test, health officials ask that you report it to the state’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-800-525-0127. The CDC recommends that you stay home for at least five days upon testing positive and wear a mask if going out for five additional days.
The CDC recommends that everyone 5 years and older get an updated bivalent COVID-19 booster, which is safe to get along with a flu vaccine, according to Melnick.
In Clark County, only around 16 percent of the eligible population has received an updated bivalent booster, according to Melnick.
“It’s really critical going into the fall that people receive an updated bivalent booster,” Melnick said in the meeting. “Whether you’ve had previous infection or vaccines your immunity wanes over time.”
COVID-19 vaccines and boosters are available all across the county. For more information on where to schedule a vaccine or booster visit www.vaccines.gov.
