Arizona surpasses 14,000 COVID deaths
Arizona on Saturday reported a recent relative low of 3,471 new COVID-19 cases and 63 new known deaths as hospitalizations for the disease continued to decline but remain at high levels.
Arizona’s seven-day, new-case average ranked fifth on Friday among all states, after ranking first and second for much of January, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker.
The state’s rate of new positive cases over the last seven days was 56.1 cases per 100,000 people, per the CDC. The U.S. average for new cases was 39.1 cases per 100,000 people.
The state’s average daily COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 people over the past seven days ranked fourth in the nation as of Friday, per the CDC.
Arizona’s newly reported 63 deaths brought the known COVID-19 death count to 14,011. The state surpassed 13,000 deaths last Friday, just one week after it passed 12,000 and two weeks after 11,000 deaths.
In just over one year since the first case was announced in Arizona, a total of 779,093 COVID-19 cases have been identified across the state.
The Arizona data dashboard shows 88% of all ICU beds and 90% of all inpatient beds in the state were in use Friday, with 47% of ICU beds and 35% of non-ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. Statewide, 221 ICU beds and 890 non-ICU beds were available.
Hospitalizations for the disease have been dropping gradually for more than three weeks but remain at very high levels.
The number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was at 3,060 on Friday, below the record 5,082 inpatients on Jan. 11.
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 849 on Friday, below the record high of 1,183 on Jan. 11. During the summer surge in mid-July, ICU beds in use for COVID-19 peaked at 970.
Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators tallied 561 on Friday, below the record-high 821 reached on Jan. 13. During the summer surge, July 16 was the peak day for ventilator use, with 687 patients.
Friday saw 1,631 patients in the emergency room for COVID-19, below the Dec. 29 single-day record of 2,341 positive or suspected COVID-19 patients seen in emergency departments across the state.
New cases in Arizona have eclipsed 5,000 for 22 of the past 31 days. This week has seen some lower case reports.
Percent positivity, which refers to the percent of COVID-19 diagnostic tests that are positive, remains high, which many health experts consider an indicator of a spike in illnesses. Last week, Arizona’s percent positivity stood at 16%. A positivity rate of 5% is considered a good benchmark that the spread of the disease is under control.
What to know about Saturday’s numbers
Reported cases in Arizona: 779,093. Cases since the outbreak began increased by 3,471, or 0.45%, from Friday’s identified cases.
Cases by county: 486,059 in Maricopa, 104,497 in Pima, 43,783 in Pinal, 35,570 in Yuma, 20,055 in Mohave, 16,539 in Yavapai, 15,650 in Coconino, 14,877 in Navajo, 10,589 in Cochise, 9,835 in Apache, 7,502 in Santa Cruz, 6,146 in Gila, 5,156 in Graham, 2,297 in La Paz and 534 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.
The Navajo Nation reported 28,796 cases and 1,053 confirmed deaths in total as of Friday.
The Arizona Department of Corrections reported 11,463 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Friday; 43,586 inmates statewide have been tested. Thirty-one incarcerated people in Arizona have been confirmed to have died of COVID-19, with 18 additional deaths under investigation. Reported deaths in Arizona: 14,011 Deaths by county: 7,935 in Maricopa, 1,903 in Pima, 735 in Yuma, 662 in Pinal, 565 in Mohave, 449 in Navajo, 412 in Yavapai, 326 in Apache, 288 in Coconino, 238 in Cochise, 199 in Gila, 159 in Santa Cruz, 67 in Graham, 69 in La Paz and six in Greenlee.