State COVID-19 case rate remains among lowest nationwide

Arizona reported 670 new COVID-19 cases and 32 new known deaths on Thursday as the state continues to fare better than most of the country in terms of recent new cases.

Arizona’s seven-day case rate per 100,000 people ranked 46th Wednesday among all states and territories, after ranking first and second for much of January, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker.

The states with a lower case rate over the past seven days were Louisiana, Mississippi, Hawaii, Kansas, California, Alabama and Arkansas. Arizona ranked 51st among 60 states and territories on March 28, but its rank has crept up.

The state’s seven-day average for new reported COVID-19 cases was 673 on Thursday, compared with 601 last Thursday, per state data. The average had reached as high as 9,800 in January.

The state’s seven-day death rate per 100,000 people ranked 38th in the nation as of Wednesday, per the CDC.

Arizona’s newly reported 32 deaths brought the known COVID-19 death count to 17,055.

A total of 846,900 COVID-19 cases have been identified across the state. February and particularly March saw relatively lower case reports. Thirty of the past 32 days’ reported cases have been under 1,000.

The Arizona data dashboard shows 86% of all ICU beds and 88% of all inpatient beds in the state were in use Wednesday, with 8% of ICU beds and 6% of non-ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. Statewide, 246 ICU beds and 996 non-ICU beds were available.

The total number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was 541 on Wednesday, a decrease from 574 on Tuesday and far below the record 5,082 inpatients on Jan. 11.

The number of patients with suspected or known COVID-19 in ICUs across Arizona was at 140 on Wednesday, down from 152 on Tuesday and far below the record high of 1,183 on Jan. 11.

Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators tallied 63 on Wednesday, similar to Tuesday and well below the record high 821 reached on Jan. 13.

Wednesday saw 1,022 patients in the emergency room for COVID-19, well below the Dec. 29 single-day record of 2,341 positive or suspected COVID-19 patients seen in emergency departments across the state.

Thursday’s numbers

Reported

846,900.

Cases since the outbreak began increased by 670, or 0.08%, from Wednesday’s 846,230 identified cases. These daily cases are grouped by the date they are reported to the state health department, not by the date the tests were administered.

Cases by county: 527,197 in Maricopa, 113,375 in Pima, 50,082 in Pinal, 36,874 in Yuma, 22,271 in Mohave, 18,391 in Yavapai, 17,238 in Coconino, 15,759 in Navajo, 11,686 in Cochise, 11,208 in Apache, 7,856 in Santa Cruz, 6,575 in Gila, 5,372 in Graham, 2,448 in La Paz and 567 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.

The Navajo Nation reported 30,198 cases and 1,259 confirmed deaths in total as of Wednesday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

The Arizona Department of Corrections reported 12,253 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday, including 2,240 in Tucson, 2,024 in Eyman, 2,010 in Yuma, 1,303 in Lewis and 1,163 in Douglas; 43,654 inmates statewide have been tested.

A total of 2,742 prison staff members have self-reported testing positive, the department said. Forty-three incarcerated people in Arizona have been confirmed to have died of COVID-19, with 10 additional deaths under investigation.

Deaths by county: 9,711 in Maricopa, 2,366 in Pima, 859 in Pinal, 824 in Yuma, 691 in Mohave, 521 in Navajo, 491 in Yavapai, 421 in Apache, 329 in Coconino, 281 in Cochise, 223 in Gila, 173 in Santa Cruz, 78 in La Paz, 77 in Graham and 10 in Greenlee.

cases

in

Arizona: