Health officials say the number of new cases of COVID-19 and the number of hospitalizations is falling in Nevada.
But Dr. Ellie Graeden of Talus Analytics said case rates are up in 11 rural counties and rural hospitalizations are up 15 percent. Deaths, they said, are down 5 percent since mid-September.
Asked whether this means Nevada has “turned the corner” on the latest surge, she said, “we certainly hope so.”
Graeden said the average number of new daily cases is now down to 692, far lower than the more than 1,000 the state was seeing a couple of weeks ago.
But she cautioned there will be an uptick as the weather cools and more people move to indoor activities where they are in closer proximity to one another.
Deputy Health and Human Services Director Candice McDaniel said Washoe County and Carson City now have 70 percent of those eligible with at least one shot in the arm. Clark County is close behind with 66 percent.
She said 64 percent of state workers are now fully vaccinated.
DuAne Young of the governor’s office said the state expects to get guidance from the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration on President Biden’s order that all private employers with 100 or more employees require vaccinations or weekly tests for those workers in the early part of October.
Asked about the more than 5,000 people who have downloaded forms seeking religious exemptions from getting the shots, Young said he expects that number to decrease. He said major religious organizations including the Catholic and Mormon churches have told members it’s “a religious duty to get vaccinated.” He said he expects more churches to follow suit.
