SE Vegas News

As omicron infections soar to 52% of all cases in Clark County and positivity rates hitting pandemic record highs, hospital staffs are reaching crisis levels in the region. 

The positivity rate hit a pandemic record of 23.3% recently, while the Nevada Hospital Association noted that a steady stream of people seeking COVID-19 tests has overwhelmed the healthc are system, KLAS reported. University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas issued its own plea on Twitter. 

“With COVID-19 cases surging across our community, please help our front-line health care workers at UMC by avoiding unnecessary visits to the ER and our UMC Quick Care locations,” it said in a Jan. 7 tweet on the social media platform. “Thank you for supporting UMC’s COVID-19 response during this difficult time for our community.”

There remain high levels of testing being conducted locally, with more than 20,000 test results reported during a single day recently, according to KLAS. More than 2,300 cases were reported on a single day recently, with the state having more than 504,000 cases. 

The KLAUS story, citing the Nevada Hospital Association, noted that 22% of all hospital patients in Southern Nevada are COVID-19 patients. 

Moreover, the station also reported that Nevada is following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines regarding masks, with mandates remaining in effect in counties until the positivity test rate falls below 8% and the case rate per 100,000 people is below 50 for 14 days. The report noted that a rating of more than 100 cases per 100,000 people is labeled as “high,” while 50 to 99 cases is called “substantial.”