Arizona lists 2,984 new COVID-19 cases, 10 additional deaths

Arizona reported nearly 3,000 new COVID-19 cases and 10 new known deaths Tuesday as hospitalizations for the disease continued to rise to their highest levels since August.

The ongoing increase in cases and hospitalizations comes as Arizona’s health system prepares for the pressures of a new COVID-19 wave as the situation worsens and as Thanksgiving approaches.

Identified COVID-19 cases in Arizona rose by 2,984 on Tuesday to 279,896, and known deaths were at 6,312, according to the daily report from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

New cases have eclipsed 1,000 for 17 of the past 20 days, with eight of those days seeing more than 2,000 new cases for the first time since the state’s summer surge. Saturday marked the third time the state had reported more than 3,000 new cases in a day since late July. The U.S. has been reporting record-high daily new cases.

The past several weeks have seen relatively higher daily case reports as the virus spreads at its fastest rate in Arizona since June, although case numbers are still below where they were during the summer peak.

New case rates in Arizona fall below the rates reported in 35 other states plus Guam, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker says. Cases are surging in North Dakota, where the new case rate per 100,000 people for the previous seven days was 198.9 as of Monday, the CDC reports. By comparison, Arizona’s rate was 32.2.

The increase in new COVID-19 cases in the summer was an early indicator of more hospitalizations and deaths in the weeks to come.

The number of patients hospitalized statewide for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was at 1,624 on Monday, the highest number reported since Aug. 8. At the peak of Arizona’s surge in July, the number of hospitalized patients suspected or confirmed to have the virus exceeded 3,000.

The number of patients with suspected or known COVID-19 in intensive care units across Arizona was at 385 on Monday, the most ICU beds in use in a single day since Aug. 19. The level is far below what it was in July, when ICU beds in use for COVID-19 reached 970.

The number of Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators was at 191 on Monday, three fewer than Sunday, which was the most ventilators in use in a single day since Aug. 21. In mid-July, as many as 687 patients across the state with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 were on ventilators.

Tuesday’s dashboard shows 87% of inpatient beds and 87% of ICU beds in use, which includes people being treated for COVID-19 and other patients. COVID-19 patients were using 19% of all inpatient beds and 23% of ICU beds. Overall, 32% of ventilators were in use.

Percent positivity, which refers to the percent of COVID-19 diagnostic tests that are positive, has gone up, which many health experts consider an early indicator of a spike in illnesses.

Of known test results from last week, the percent positivity was 11%, up from 9% and 7% the two weeks prior, according to the state, which has a unique way of calculating percent positivity. Percent positivity was at 4% for several weeks during August, September and October, according to state data.

Johns Hopkins University calculates Arizona’s seven-day moving average of percent positives at 16.5% as of Tuesday. It shows the state’s percent positivity is trending upward.

Tuesday’s numbers:

Reported cases in Arizona: 279,896. Cases increased by 2,984, or 1.08%, from Monday’s 276,912 identified cases since the outbreak began.

Cases by county: 178,639 in Maricopa, 33,444 in Pima, 15,642 in Yuma, 13,936 in Pinal, 7,231 in Navajo, 6,476 in Coconino, 5,208 in Mohave, 4,488 in Apache, 3,791 in Yavapai, 3,337 in Santa Cruz, 2,777 in Cochise, 2,388 in Gila, 1,720 in Graham, 687 in La Paz and 132 in Greenlee, according to state numbers. Reported deaths: 6,312

Deaths by county: 3,809 in Maricopa, 670 in Pima, 365 in Yuma, 261 in Navajo, 243 in Mohave, 239 in Pinal, 189 in Apache, 159 in Coconino, 104 in Yavapai, 78 in Gila, 77 in Cochise, 66 in Santa Cruz, 32 in Graham, 18 in La Paz and fewer than three in Greenlee.

The COVID-19 death rate in Arizona was 87 per 100,000 people as of Monday, according to the CDC, putting it10th in the country. The U.S. average is 74 deaths per 100,000 people, the CDC says.