Virus tops 30,000 cases in Nevada but growth rate slowing

COVID response officials say Nevada now has over 30,000 positive cases of the virus.

But Director Caleb Cage and Deputy Community Health Director Julia Peek say the rate those cases are growing has slowed a bit.

For the seven-day period ending July 14, cases were growing at a rate of 3.3 percent. For comparison, they said the growth race for the week ended June 30 was 3.9 percent.

But that’s still far higher than the rate for the week ending May 31 that was just 1.4 percent.

Statewide hospital occupancy rates were at 79 percent and ICU beds at 77 percent but just 38 percent of ventilators statewide are being used right now.

They said contact tracing is now identifying 19 percent of new cases.

Given the numbers, they emphasized the importance of social distancing, wearing a mask, sanitizing frequently and avoiding big groups.