More than 5,000 people in Clark County have died from COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, the Southern Nevada Health District announced today, calling it a “tragic milestone.”
“This is a tragedy for everyone who has lost a loved one, family member and friend, and I offer my condolences to all those who have been impacted by the pandemic,” Dr. Fermin Leguen, district health officer for the Health District, in a news release.
The death toll as of today was at 5,005, with nearly 300,000 confirmed cases, the release said.
As of Tuesday, more than 2.2 million doses of vaccine were administered in Clark County, covering about 70% of people over age 18 with at least one shot, the Health District reported. About 65% of people over age 12 had received at least one dose.
With the rampant spread of the more transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus, most Nevada, including Clark County, is under a mask mandate. Everyone, regardless of vaccination status, must wear a mask in indoor public spaces.
“We just hope you all get the vaccines,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said at today’s City Council meeting. “As we speak to doctors and health experts around the country and here, that’s what the recommendation is, and you all know that.”
Sun reporter Arleigh Rodgers contributed to this report.