Ariz. reports 1,791 additional COVID-19 cases, 114 deaths

PHOENIX – Arizona on Saturday reported nearly 1,800 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 100 more deaths as the number of patients hospitalized due to the coronavirus outbreak continued to drop during the slowing of the fall and winter surge.

The 1,791 cases and 114 deaths reported by the Department of Health Services increased the state’s pandemic totals to 795,323 cases and 14,948 deaths.

There were 2,300 hospitalized COVID-19 patients occupying inpatient beds as of Friday, down from the pandemic high of 5,082 on Jan. 11, according to the state’s coronavirus dashboard.

Seven-day rolling averages of daily new cases and daily deaths dropped over the past two weeks, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project.

The rolling average of daily new cases dropped from 5745.6 on Jan. 29 2,558.6 on Friday while the rolling average of daily deaths dropped from 145.6 to 126.6 during the same period.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher than reported because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

In other coronavirus news, Mexico is reducing its COVID-19 alert level in about half of the country’s states amid a drop in infections and hospitalizations in many places, including the capital.

Mexico City announced that starting next week gyms, indoor swimming pools and churches will be allowed to open and restaurants will be able to operate outdoors until 10 p.m. Mexico’s capital let shopping malls partially reopen this week.

“The epidemic continues but it is, at least at the moment, heading downward,” said the federal government’s spokesperson on the pandemic, Hugo López-Gatell. “Vaccination is going forward; let’s continue calmly and optimistically but with prudence and discipline.”

The new coronavirus figures, however, do not show so much reason for euphoria. Mexico has 1.9 million infections with at least 172,557 confirmed deaths, although authorities acknowledge the real number of deaths could be much higher.

The government is trying to speed up the vaccination program with the authorization of two new vaccines this week and the arrival of more batches. In total, fewer than 86,000 people have been fully vaccinated in a country with 126 million inhabitants.

Mexico uses a red, orange, yellow and green level coronavirus alert system. Of the 13 states that have been at the maximum level, only two are left in red —Guanajuato and Guerrero. The only state in green is Chiapas in the country’s south.