Ariz. adds 480 new COVID cases, updates death toll
Arizona reported 480 new COVID-19 cases and two fewer known deaths than previously reported on Saturday as hospitalizations for the disease remained at a relative plateau.
Arizona’s seven-day case rate per 100,000 people ranked 46th on Friday 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 Mississippi, Kansas, California, Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas and Hawaii. Arizona ranked 51st among 60 states and territories on March 28, but its rank has gone up.
The state’s seven-day death rate per 100,000 people ranked 33rd in the nation as of Friday, per the CDC.
It was unclear on why deaths were over-reported, requiring an adjustment of two fewer deaths Saturday, but many reported deaths occurred days or weeks prior, because of reporting delays and death certificate matching.
Arizona reported a known COVID-19 death count of 17,151 on Saturday, two fewer deaths than was reported on Friday. The state surpassed 17,000 deaths on April 7, after passing 16,000 deaths on March 2, 15,000 deaths on Feb. 17, 14,000 deaths on Feb. 6 and 13,000 deaths on Jan. 29, just one week after it passed 12,000 and two weeks after 11,000 deaths.
A total of 853,050 COVID-19 cases have been identified across the state. March and April have seen relatively lower case reports. Thirty-eight of the past 41 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 Friday, with 9% of ICU beds and 7% of nonICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. Statewide, 247 ICU beds and 1,054 non-ICU beds were available.
The total number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was 567 on Friday, down from 569 on Thursday 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 154 on Friday for the second day in a row, far below the record high of 1,183 on Jan. 11.
Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators tallied 66 on Friday, a slight drop from 68 on Thursday and well below the record high 821 reached on Jan. 13.
Friday saw 989 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.
Saturday’s numbers
Reported cases in Arizona: 853,050. Cases since the outbreak began increased by 480, or 0.06%, from Friday’s 852,570 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: 530,598 in Maricopa, 114,094 in Pima, 50,582 in Pinal, 36,964 in Yuma, 22,413 in Mohave, 18,501 in Yavapai, 17,476 in Coconino, 16,044 in Navajo, 11,814 in Cochise, 11,267 in Apache, 7,894 in Santa Cruz, 6,861 in Gila, 5,523 in Graham, 2,451 in La Paz and 568 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.
The Navajo Nation reported 30,355 cases and 1,262 confirmed deaths in total as of Friday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The Arizona Department of Corrections reported 12,266 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Friday, including 2,241 in Tucson, 2,029 in Eyman, 2,014 in Yuma, 1,303 in Lewis and 1,163 in Douglas; 46,309 inmates statewide have been tested. A total of 2,754 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.
Deaths by county: 9,766 in Maricopa, 2,381 in Pima, 862 in Pinal, 827 in Yuma, 698 in Mohave, 523 in Navajo, 495 in Yavapai, 422 in Apache, 328 in Coconino, 282 in Cochise, 227 in Gila, 174 in Santa Cruz, 79 in La Paz, 77 in Graham and 10 in Greenlee.