Arizona reports 2,269 cases of coronavirus and 64 known deaths
Maricopa County offering more details on numbers
Arizona cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, now exceed 2,200, with 64 known deaths, according to new numbers released by the Arizona Department of Health Services on Sunday.
The total identified cases in Arizona are 2,269, according to the most recent state figures. That’s an increase of 250 confirmed cases, or 12%, since Saturday when the state reported 2,019 identified cases and 52 deaths.
Maricopa County’s confirmed cases now exceed 1,300. All of Arizona’s 15 counties have at least one recorded case.
As of Sunday morning, Maricopa County recorded 31 deaths related to COVID-19, three more than reported Saturday morning. Pima County had 13 known deaths.
Maricopa County’s Health Department provided more detailed information on its cases. The state’s database shows the county has 1,326 cases, while the county’s website says it has 1,318 confirmed as of Sunday morning. Of the 1,318 the county numbers show:
❚ Confirmed cases increased by 145 from Saturday to Sunday.
❚ The majority of the cases, 681, or 52%, are male.
❚ Twenty-eight people under age 19 have tested positive.
❚ People aged 20 to 44 make up 39% of positive cases, followed by people 4564 years old at 36% and people over age 65 at 23%.
❚ 19%, or 244 cases, have been hospitalized. This is 13 more than Saturday.
❚ 6%, or 84 cases, have been in the intensive care unit. This is four more than Saturday. The hospitalization and ICU numbers include any case that was in the hospital or ICU at any time during their illness, the county says.
❚ The likelihood of being hospitalized or in the ICU increases with age. Of those aged 20-44, 44 were hospitalized and 12 were in the ICU. For people aged 45-64, 86 were hospitalized and 31 were in the ICU. Among those over age 65, there were 114 hospitalized and 41 in the ICU.
❚ Thirty-one people have died in Maricopa County. Of those, seven were aged 45-64 and 24 were over age 65.
Cases rise in other counties
According to Sunday’s state update, Pima County had 372 identified cases. Navajo County had 195 cases, while Coconino had 155. Pinal County had 103, Yavapai County had 45, Apache County had 23, and Yuma County had 13.
Mohave County had 16 cases according to the state numbers, but the county reported Sunday afternoon it had 18 confirmed cases, one of whom is “epidemiologically linked” to one of the other cases. The county also reported its first COVID-19 related death in a person over the age of 65 with underlying health conditions, a press release said. The county said 10 positive confirmed cases are in the Lake Havasu City area, six in Kingman, and two in Bullhead City.
Cochise County had eight cases, Santa Cruz County had four, La Paz and Gila counties had three and Graham County had two, according to state numbers.
Greenlee County recorded one case. Greenlee, in southeastern Arizona, was the last county to record a case.
All counties but Santa Cruz, Gila and Greenlee saw an increase in their cases from Saturday.
Cochise County, with eight cases, is now believed to have community spread, the county’s Health Department said in a press release on Monday. The county determined it had community spread after an adult female contracted the virus without any recent travel.
The Arizona Republic contacted all 15 counties for numbers on hospitalizations, which is only available online for Maricopa County. Not all counties have responded yet, but here is what the hospitalization numbers showed as of Tuesday for other counties. (These include all cases ever hospitalized, not just current hospitalizations.)
❚ Pima County: 74 known hospitalizations and 25 in the ICU.
Pinal County: seven known hospitalizations.
❚ Yavapai County: three.
❚ Mohave County: one.
❚ Cochise County: one.
❚ Santa Cruz, La Paz, Gila and Greenlee counties: no known hospitalizations.
The Navajo Nation reported 354 cases and 14 confirmed COVID-19-related deaths Sunday evening. The number of cases rose by 33 between Saturday and Sunday.
The White Mountain Apache Tribe announced its first identified positive case of COVID-19 on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation northeast of Phoenix. The person is a tribal member and is in isolation at the Whiteriver Indian Hospital, according to a release from the tribe.
The Pascua Yaqui tribe in southern Arizona has confirmed two coronavirus deaths.
Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis announced on Saturday evening its first COVID-19 related death. On Friday, their health care facilities had 12 positive tests, five from Gila River Indian Community members and seven from other tribes.
The number of Arizona cases is likely much higher than official numbers suggest. People have reported trouble getting tested, as health professionals confront confusion over who to test and face a lack of testing supplies.
Testing increasing slowly
The state Health Department website says both state and private laboratories have completed a total of 27,160 tests for COVID-19, according to the number posted Saturday on the agency website.
While there was a big jump in testing in mid-March, the rate of increase has significantly dropped since then, possibly correlating with new state guidelines for more restrictive testing. Fewer than 500 tests were conducted statewide the week of March 22, according to the state database.
The state issued new guidance for testing on March 25 to primary care providers saying they should “consider removing this diagnostic ‘tool’ from their toolbox and managing patients with respiratory conditions as if they have COVID-19.”
At a March 25 press conference, state Health Director Dr. Cara Christ said that if infections continue at their current pace, illnesses would peak in April and hospitalizations would peak in May.
“Arizona is still in the opening stages of its COVID-19 outbreak, and the number of cases within the state will increase significantly,” Christ said.
The state Health Department announced in a press release on Sunday that its COVID-19 dashboard had been enhanced. The state previously provided only a limited scope of the cases. The new dashboard provides a more comprehensive view of the state’s number of cases, breaking it down by the number of cases per week, age and gender.
The distribution of cases appears to align with the number of tests done. For instance, the age group with the highest percentage of cases, those aged 20 to 44, also are the age group that has had the most tests.
Most COVID-19 tests come back negative, the state’s dashboard shows, with only 7% of tests coming back positive.
Of the statewide identified cases, 49% are men and 51% are women.
Last week, the level of community spread escalated from moderate to “widespread,” as listed on the state Health Department’s website. Community spread means the patient who tested positive had no history of traveling to regions of the world affected by the new coronavirus, and also had no known contact with anyone infected.
On Monday, Gov. Doug Ducey signed an executive order further stressing the need for Arizonans to stay home to slow the coronavirus spread, except for necessary trips. On Friday, he announced all hair and nail salons, as well as several other types of businesses, must close by 5 p.m. Saturday, adding to the list of closed or restricted businesses.
Navajo Reservation cases, curfew
The Navajo Nation announced on Saturday evening it had 321 identified cases, with 13 confirmed deaths.
The 321 cases include portions of the reservation in the following counties in three states: 137 in Navajo County, 31 in Apache County and 90 in Coconino County in Arizona; 30 in San Juan County, 17 in McKinley County, seven in Cibola County and two in Socorro County in New Mexico; and seven in San Juan County in Utah.
Nearly 1,800 people have tested negative for COVID-19, according to a Saturday press release from the Navajo Nation.
The Navajo Police Department began issuing citations and fines on Saturday for anyone who violates the “Stay at Home Order” and daily curfew.