LAS VEGAS — More than 6,000 people in Nevada have died of COVID-19, a grim milestone the state surpassed Friday as officials struggle to respond to another surge of the coronavirus.
Gov. Steve Sisolak called it "another significant and heartbreaking milestone" for the state and issued another plea for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
"My heart aches alongside all of the Nevada families who are mourning the loss of a loved one," the Democrat said.
Nevada reported 26 new deaths Friday and 1,299 new cases of COVID-19.
Since the pandemic began, the state has reported 363,574 COVID-19 cases and 6,005 deaths.
Sisolak and state health officials have been struggling to mitigate another resurgence of the virus in Nevada driven by the highly contagious delta variant and a still-lagging rate of vaccinations.
Sisolak recently reimposed a mask mandate for much of Nevada but officials in Elko County voted this week not to comply and directed local government offices and workers not to enforce the mandate.
