Ariz. exceeds 122,000 cases, 2,200 deaths

Arizona reported another 2,537 COVID-19 cases on Sunday.

Identified cases rose to 122,467 and known deaths total 2,237, according to the daily report by the Arizona Department of Health Services. The state does not report the number of recovered cases, though it does report hospital discharges.

ICU beds and ventilators in use by suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients hit new records on Saturday, according to hospital data reported to the state.

Hospitalizations and emergency room visits dropped after reaching record highs in the days before.

Sunday’s dashboard showed that 86% of current inpatient beds and 89% of ICU beds were in use, which includes people being treated for COVID-19 and other patients. This is down slightly from numbers reported the previous day. Most people who get COVID-19 are not hospitalized.

The 86 additional known deaths reported on Sunday represent the new deaths identified by the Health Department that day, but the deaths could have occurred weeks prior and on different days.

During the past three weeks, the number of cases jumped by 150% and tests increased by just 71%. Of known test results from last week, 21% have come back positive.

Here’s what you need to know about Sunday’s new numbers.

Reported cases in Arizona: 122,467

● Cases increased by 2,537, or 2.1%, from Saturday’s 119,930 identified cases since the outbreak began.

● County cases: 80,146 in Maricopa, 11,767 in Pima, 8,302 in Yuma, 5,614 in Pinal, 4,337 in Navajo, 2,579 in Apache, 2,457 in Coconino, 2,180 in Santa Cruz, 1,825 in Mohave, 1,123 in Yavapai, 1,049 in Cochise, 445 in Gila, 407 in La Paz, 204 in Graham and 32 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.

● The rate of cases per 100,000 people is highest in Santa Cruz County, followed by Navajo, Apache and Yuma.

● The Navajo Nation reported 8,098 cases and 396 confirmed deaths as of Friday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

● The Arizona Department of Corrections said 530 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Friday; 4,330 inmates have been tested out of a population of nearly 40,000. Five incarcerated people have been confirmed to have died of COVID-19, with eight additional deaths under investigation.

● While race/ethnicity is unknown for 49% of cases, 23% of cases are Hispanic or Latino, 16% of cases are white, 6% are Native American and 2% are Black.

● Laboratories have completed 695,463 diagnostic tests for COVID-19, 14.1% of which have come back positive. The percentage of positive tests has increased in the past month. It was 21% for tests that have come back so far from last week.

Reported deaths in Arizona: 2,237

● On Sunday, 86 new deaths were reported, although many likely occurred on previous days or weeks.

● County deaths: 1,133 in Maricopa, 327 in Pima, 143 in Navajo, 154 in Yuma, 104 in Apache, 102 in Coconino, 98 in Mohave, 88 in Pinal, 29 in Santa Cruz, 22 in Cochise, 12 in Gila, 15 in Yavapai, seven in La Paz and fewer than three in Graham and Greenlee.

● People aged 65 and older made up 1,645 of the 2,237 deaths, or 74%.

● While race/ethnicity is unknown for 14% of deaths, 41% of those who died were white, 24% were Hispanic or Latino, 15% were Native American and 3% were Black.

Ventilator, ICU bed use still high

● Inpatients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 tallied 3,432 statewide on Saturday. Hospitalizations have eclipsed 1,000 daily since June 1 and have surpassed 3,000 for the past week.

● ICU bed use for suspected and confirmed positive COVID-19 patients hit a record 922 beds in use on Saturday. The number has been above 500 daily since June 15, with a relatively steady increase in the weeks since.

● Ventilator use for suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients increased to 631 on Saturday, the highest number so far, up from Friday’s previous record of 620 patients on ventilators. Overall, 51% of ventilators remained available on Saturday.

● Emergency department visits for patients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 was at 1,727 on Friday. ER visits surpassed 800 on June 5 and have been above that level every day since.