Coronavirus update: 20,123 Arizona cases, 917 known deaths

Arizona cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, now exceed 20,100 with 917 known deaths, according to numbers released on Monday by the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Arizona's total identified cases rose to 20,123 on Monday, according to the most recent state figures. That's an increase of 187 confirmed cases, or 0.9%, since Sunday when the state reported 19,936 identified cases and 906 deaths.

The state on Monday reported 11 new deaths from COVID-19, bringing Arizona's total to 917.

New cases have been reported each day by the state, typically in the several hundreds. The daily increase in case numbers also reflects a lag in obtaining results from the time a test was conducted.

Additional deaths are reported each day as well, and have varied between single- and double-digit increases. The number of deaths reported each day represents the additional known deaths reported by the health department that day, but could have occurred weeks prior and on different days.

The date with the most deaths in a single day so far is April 30 with 26 deaths, followed by April 23 and May 8 with 24 deaths each. Next comes May 7 with 23 deaths and April 19, April 20, May 3 and May 5 with 22 deaths on each of those days, according to Monday's data, which is likely to change in the days ahead as more deaths are identified.

Maricopa County's confirmed case total was at 9,937 on Monday, according to state numbers.

The number of Arizona cases likely is higher than official numbers because of limits on supplies and available tests. The state announced on April 23 that anyone who believes he or she could be infected can now get tested.

The state's effort to add new hospital beds has affected the hospitalization data. While the percentage of beds available has been fairly stable over the past couple weeks, the raw numbers of people in the hospital due to COVID-19 have actually gone up.

Statewide hospitalizations of people with positive and suspected COVID-19 in Arizona have hit record-highs in recent days, hovering steady over the weekend. Ventilator use and ICU bed use by patients with positive and suspected COVID-19 also were at around their highest levels since the state began reporting this data in early April.

The latest Arizona data

As of Monday morning, the state reported death totals from these counties: 433 in Maricopa, 185 in Pima, 81 in Coconino, 64 in Navajo, 45 in Mohave, 40 in Pinal, 39 in Apache, 15 in Yuma, six in Yavapai and three in Cochise.

La Paz County and Gila County officials reported two deaths each and Graham County reported one death, although the state site listed the three counties as just having fewer than three deaths. Greenlee and Santa Cruz counties both reported no deaths.

Overall, Arizona has 279.9 cases and 12.76 deaths per 100,000 residents, according to state data.

The scope of the outbreak differs by county. Maricopa County has 227.5 cases and 9.91 deaths per 100,000 residents, and Pima has 228 cases and 17.71 deaths per 100,000 residents.

Coconino has 784.2 cases and 55 deaths per 100,000 residents, and Navajo has 1,660.1 cases and 56.73 deaths per 100,000 residents.