Arizona adds over 5,600 new COVID-19 cases, 191 deaths
Arizona's new-case rate continued to lead the nation as the state reported more than 5,600 new COVID-19 cases and 191 new known deaths from the disease on Wednesday.
The state's seven-day new-case average ranked highest in the nation on Tuesday, after ranking first and second for most of last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID Data Tracker.
Arizona's rate of new positive cases over the last seven days was 129.5 cases per 100,000 people, per the CDC. The U.S. average for new cases is 75.2 cases per 100,000 people.
The Arizona data dashboard shows 92% of all ICU beds and 92% of all inpatient beds in the s were in use Tuesday, with 64% of ICU beds and 59% of non-ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. Statewide, there were 145 ICU beds and 667 non-ICU beds available.
The number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was at 5,055 on Tuesday, just below Monday's record 5,082 inpatients. By comparison, the highest number of COVID-19 hospitalizations in a single day during the summer surge was 3,517 on July 13.
The number of patients with suspected or known COVID-19 in ICUs across Arizona was at 1,158 on Tuesday, a slight drop from the record high 1,183 on Monday.
Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators tallied a record high 805 on Tuesday, passing the previous record of 799 on Jan. 7.
Tuesday saw 2,085 patients in the emergency room for COVID-19.
Wednesday's 5,629 new cases brought the total number of identified COVID-19 cases in the state to 641,729. As of Wednesday, 10,673 Arizonans are known to have died from the disease, according to the data dashboard from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Wednesday's numbers
Reported cases in Arizona: 641,729. Cases since the outbreak began increased by 5,629, or 0.88%, from Tuesday's 636,100 identified cases.
These daily cases are grouped by the date they are reported to the Arizona Department of Health Services, not by the date the tests were administered.
Cases by county: 397,208 in Maricopa, 85,256 in Pima, 35,041 in Pinal, 31,789 in Yuma, 16,080 in Mohave, 13,962 in Yavapai, 13,192 in Coconino, 12,894 in in Navajo, 9,344 in Cochise, 8,376 in Apache, 6,807 in Santa Cruz, 5,203 in Gila, 4,202 in Graham, 1,905 in La Paz and 468 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.
The Navajo Nation reported 25,576 cases and 874 confirmed deaths in total as of Tuesday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The Arizona Department of Corrections reported 8,042 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday, including 1,589 in Tucson, 1,537 in Yuma, 1,274 in Eyman and 1,057 in Douglas; 43,136 inmates statewide have been tested. A total of 2,137 prison staff members have self-reported testing positive, the department said. Twenty-eight incarcerated people in Arizona have been confirmed to have died of COVID-19, with 16 additional deaths under investigation.
Arizona as of Tuesday had the 10th highest overall case rate in the country since Jan. 21.
Ahead of Arizona in cases per 100,000 people since the pandemic began are North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Oklahoma, according to the CDC.
Arizona's infection rate is 8,622 cases per 100,000 people, the CDC said. The national average is 6,784 cases per 100,000 people, though the rates in states hard hit early on in the pandemic may be an undercount because of a lack of available testing in March and April.
Deaths by county: 6,115 in Maricopa, 1,335 in Pima, 601 in Yuma, 461 in Pinal, 413 in Mohave, 378 in Navajo, 299 in Yavapai, 262 in Apache, 240 in Coconino, 181 in Cochise, 157 in Gila, 127 in Santa Cruz, 56 in Graham, 44 in La Paz and four in Greenlee.
The global death toll as of Wednesday morning was 1,966,082 and the U.S. had the highest death count of any country in the world, at 381,130, according to Johns Hopkins University. Arizona's death total of 10,673 deaths represents 2.8% of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. as of Wednesday.