Hospitalizations up, but most COVID-19 figures trend down

Arizona reported 1,008 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, a number lower than nearly all the daily case reports for June and July. The state also reported 66 new known deaths from COVID-19.

Inpatient hospitalizations, ICU beds in use and ventilators in use all rose slightly on Monday but generally seem to be continuing downward trends, according to hospital data reported to the state.

Identified cases rose to 180,505 and known deaths totaled 3,845, according to the daily report by the Arizona Department of Health Services.

The 66 new known deaths reported on Tuesday represent the new deaths identified by the Arizona Department of Health Services that day, but many occurred days and weeks prior. Given slow test result turnaround times, new daily reported cases often represent cases that occurred days and weeks prior.

Tuesday’s dashboard shows 81% of inpatient beds and 83% of ICU beds were in use, which includes people being treated for COVID-19 and other patients. Overall, 41% of ventilators were in use.

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

Reported cases: 180,505

Cases increased by 1,008, or 0.56%, from Monday’s 179,497 identified cases since the outbreak began.

County cases: 121,789 in Maricopa, 16,809 in Pima, 11,217 in Yuma, 8,304 in Pinal, 5,301 in Navajo, 3,098 in Apache, 3,048 in Mohave, 3,013 in Coconino, 2,618 in Santa Cruz, 1,883 in Yavapai, 1,554 in Cochise, 846 in Gila, 492 in Graham, 476 in La Paz and 57 in Greenlee, according to state numbers. The Navajo Nation reported 9,139 cases and 462 confirmed deaths as of Monday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

Reported deaths: 3,845

On Tuesday, 66 new deaths were reported, although many likely occurred on previous days or weeks.

County deaths: 2,153 in Maricopa, 465 in Pima, 267 in Yuma, 192 in Navajo, 157 in Mohave, 142 in Pinal, 136 in Apache, 117 in Coconino, 64 in Yavapai, 50 in Santa Cruz, 50 in Cochise, 29 in Gila, 11 in Graham, 10 in La Paz and fewer than three in Greenlee.

Hospitalizations fluctuate, but generally see downward trends

Inpatients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 tallied 2,024 on Monday, a slight uptick from Sunday’s 2,017 inpatients. Hospitalizations have eclipsed 1,000 daily since June 1 and had surpassed 3,000 daily for much of July. Inpatient hospitalizations are gradually decreasing.

ICU bed use for suspected an d confirmed positive COVID-19 patients was at 638 beds in use on Monday, up from 628 beds in use on Sunday, which had dropped from Saturday’s 685 beds in use. Prior to Saturday, the metric had not been below 700 beds in use since June 30. Occupied beds have seen slight decreases over the past three weeks.

Ventilator use for suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients was at 474 on Monday, up slightly from 461 ventilators in use on Sunday. Ventilators in use seem to be generally declining for the past two and a half weeks. A record high 687 ventilators in use was hit July 16.