John Locher / AP
In this Feb. 17, 2021 photo, people receive the COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination site in Las Vegas.
Wednesday, Oct. 6, 2021 | 3:46 p.m.
September was the third deadliest COVID-19 month in Washoe County since the pandemic began.
But coronavirus trends are continuing to improve in Reno-Sparks, Las Vegas and across most of the state after a summer surge in cases and hospitalizations began to plateau late last month, health officials said Wednesday.
The 14-day average for the positivity rate statewide dropped to 8.5% on Tuesday. It was nearly double that much of August and hovered above 10% most of September.
It is 6.7% in Las Vegas and Clark County, 13.5% in Washoe County and 15.7% across the rest of Nevada outside Reno-Sparks, Las Vegas and Carson City.
The 14-day average for new daily cases statewide fell to 620 on Wednesday, the lowest it's been since mid-July. That includes 373 in Clark County, 129 in Washoe County and 104 in rural Nevada.
“We are moving in the right direction,” Washoe County Health District Officer Kevin Dick said Wednesday.
Washoe County reported 20 coronavirus-related deaths the first five days of September and finished the month with a total of 98, Dick said. The county’s deadliest COVID-19 months were 208 in December 2020 and 108 in January 2021.
“There’s been much improvement there and hopefully that pace will continue,” Dick said.
