Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Covid-19 cases continued an upward trend from June to July, according to the latest numbers from the Clark County Health Department.

As of last Friday, the health department confirmed 543 new positive cases from July 1st through 29th. That is up from the 493 positive cases confirmed during June.

Both case counts are up from this time last year. The health department confirmed 214 cases last July, just as the delta variant became the dominant strain in the United States.

The current dominant strain is omicron BA.5, which has caused an increase in local infections but has not yielded a significant uptick in hospitalizations. The health department recorded just 12 new hospitalizations during July.

The rash of new cases has caused Clark County to slide into a high level of community spread. Due to that, the health department recommends residents stay up to date on their vaccinations, avoid large indoor gatherings, wear well-fitting masks when appropriate, and stay home if they exhibit signs of sickness.

There have been 12,477 confirmed cases of Covid-19 since the global pandemic began in March 2020. As of July 25th, over 61 percent of Clark County residents are vaccinated against the virus.