Nevada virus positivity rate drops below 10 percent

Nevada’s cumulative positivity rate since the pandemic began is now below 10 percent for the first time in months.

As of Friday, it was at 9.9 percent.

Nevada has logged 77,753 cases of the virus. That is an increase of 556 in the past day. Of the new daily infections, 408 were in Clark County and 132 in Washoe with just 16 in the rest of the state.

The state has now completed more than 1 million tests. But since many people are in positions where they are tested multiple times, just 210,937 people have actually been tested.

Both the number of daily cases and the daily positivity rate have been rising in the past few days as the impact of Labor Day partying shows up in the data. Over the past seven days, the average has been 380 new cases a day.

COVID-19 Task Force Director Caleb Cage and Community Health Deputy Administrator Julia Peek say the state has 460 virus or suspected virus patients in hospital beds, down eight from the day before, and just 130 in intensive care units, a decrease of seven.

No new deaths have been reported in the Quad County area of Carson City, Storey, Douglas and Lyon counties and just nine more deaths were reported statewide. Total deaths are now at 1,573.

But the number of continued unemployment claims fell last week for the fifth straight week. It is now at 206,166, the lowest since the week ending April 11 when the real impact of the virus hit. Initial claims for benefits also fell in the week ending Sept. 19, but only by 134 claims to 8,198.

Carson City reported 111 initial claims during the week and 1,662 continued claims. Churchill County reported 30 new claims and 375 continued claims while the numbers in Douglas County were 61 and 1,104. Lyon County had 1,311 continued claims, 69 of which were new last week.

Washoe County reported 842 new claims for benefits during the week and now has 14,251 continued claims.

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program for the self-employed and gig workers saw continued claims fall as well by 4,463 to just under 96,000. But initial PUA claims increased by 10.9 percent to 11,438.