Arizona nears grim milestone: 1,000 COVID-19 deaths

Arizona is fast approaching 1,000 deaths from COVID-19, a grim milestone since community spread was first identified in the state in early March.

As of Wednesday, Arizona reported 981 known deaths and a total of 22,223 positive cases. Arizona’s first known death from COVID-19 was reported March 20.

Numbers have skyrocketed in recent days, with 40 new deaths added between Tuesday and Wednesday alone.

The state could reach 1,000 reported deaths as early as today.

The alarming spike in numbers comes after the expiration of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s stay-at-home order on May 15, which relaxed social distancing, followed by Memorial Day weekend revelry.

The Arizona Department of Health Services has evaded questions of whether increases in cases, deaths and hospitalizations constitute a trend — and if so, how much concern and action it should warrant.

In their most recent May 28 news conference, state health officials were asked about the rising hospital numbers and said that they need more data to confirm a trend.

Ducey and the health department have yet to hold a news conference this week to address the climbing recent numbers and state health officials have not made any public statements about the most recent numbers.

State health officials have not made themselves available to discuss the recent numbers with The Arizona Republic, but indicated they might do so later in the week.

Wednesday’s 981 deaths were split among the following counties: 466 in Maricopa, 196 in Pima, 85 in Coconino, 67 in Navajo, 47 in Mohave, 45 in Apache, 39 in Pinal, 19 in Yuma, six in Yavapai, five in Cochise, two in La Paz, two in Gila, one in Graham and one in Santa Cruz. Greenlee County reported no deaths.

Yuma County as of Wednesday afternoon had identified two additional deaths for a total of 21 in a county that’s experiencing a spike in cases. As of Wednesday, 83 people were hospitalized at Yuma Regional Medical Center for COVID-19 symptoms, up from 63 last week.

Men have made up a higher percentage of deaths statewide than women, with 54% of the deaths men and 46% women, although cases are 47% men and 53% women.

The vast majority of people who have died are ages 65 and older — 759 of the 981 total deaths, or 77%. People aged 5564 made up 12% of deaths, followed by those aged 45-54 with 6% and 20-44 with 5% of deaths.

Long-term care facilities have been home to many of the state’s deaths. In Maricopa County, deaths at long-term care facilities account for 70% of the county’s total COVID-19 deaths. Longterm care facilities include nursing homes, assisted living, hospice and rehabilitation centers.

While race/ethnicity is unknown for 12% of deaths, 47% of deaths were white, 19% were Native American and 16% were Hispanic or Latino. The American Community Survey’s five-year estimates show about 4.6% of Arizonans are American Indian or Alaska Native.

The scope of deaths has differed county by county, with northeastern Arizona hit particularly hard.

As of Wednesday, Arizona as a whole had 13.65 deaths per 100,000 residents. For Maricopa, that number was 10.67 deaths per 100,000 residents; Pima County had 18.76 deaths per 100,000 residents.

But in Apache County, the number hit 62.67 deaths per 100,000 residents, and in Navajo County it was at 59.38, suggesting those areas have been impacted more seriously by COVID-19.

Hospitalizations of people with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 are up statewide, with a record of 1,092 inpatients reported Tuesday. 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.