By Scott Sonner Associated Press
Thursday, August 26, 2021
RENO — Driven by encouraging trends in Las Vegas, Nevada's COVID-19 positivity test rate is continuing a two-week decline statewide but has reached its worst level since December in Washoe County, where new daily cases and deaths continue to rise.
Thirty new deaths have been reported so far in August in the Reno-Sparks area, compared to monthly totals of five each in June and July, Washoe County Health District Officer Kevin Dick said Wednesday.
Demand for testing there also has exploded — from 100 or fewer a week six weeks ago to 2,000 to 2,500 now — and district officials can't keep up with contact tracing, he said.
"We have taken a step back in our fight against this pandemic right now," said Dr. Reka Danko, a member of the Washoe County Board of Health who joined Dick for Wednesday's weekly update with reporters.
Dick said he's hopeful the Food and Drug Administration's formal certification of the Pfizer vaccine this week will encourage Nevadans to get shots to help blunt recent trends and decrease prospects for reinstatement of past restrictions, such as limits on business capacities.
"Unfortunately, I think we are seeing continuing deterioration and that may require us to go to those additional mitigation measures, which nobody wants to see," Dick said.
Statewide, the latest 14-day average for the positivity rate stands at 14.1%, down from 16.4% on Aug. 13 after a steep climb from as low as 3.3% in early June. The 14-day average positivity rate for Clark County and Las Vegas has dropped from 16.9% on Aug. 7 to 13.2% as of Tuesday.
But in Washoe County, the 18.9% positivity rate Dick reported Wednesday was the highest since 20% on Dec. 20. It had remained below the 5% level recommended by the World Health Organization from early May through early July but has been on a steep rise ever since.
Statewide, Nevada's positivity rate peaked Jan. 15 at 21% after a steady climb from 6.1% on Sept. 24.
The 14-day rolling average for new daily cases has dropped statewide to 950 from 1,120 a week ago. That had been the highest average since 1,130 on Jan. 30.
Clark County's 14-day average is 631 and Washoe County's 200.
But Dick reported 275 new cases on Wednesday to bring Washoe County's seven-day average to 250. He said when the district is fully staffed, it can only handle contact tracing for about 100 cases a day. He said they are prioritizing pediatric cases.
Dick repeated his concerns the trend resembles last fall's march toward peak transmission levels and belief that the key to reversing the trend is adding to the 42% of eligible Nevadans — ages 12 and older — who are fully vaccinated. About 50.1% have gotten at least one shot.
"I recognize we have a faction, a group of people in our community, that are opposed to mandates such as mask-wearing and are opposed to the vaccine. I would ask those people to look around and see where that is getting us," Dick said.
"Those that were awaiting that full FDA process and authorization of the Pfizer vaccine should feel reassured now that it has gone through the entirety of that process now it has been found to be safe and effective," he said.
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