Arizona deaths from COVID-19 pass 1,800
Arizona reported 2,695 new COVID-19 cases and 17 additional deaths on Saturday, according to data from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
The number of people in the hospitals and using ICU beds again broke records Friday.
Arizona is among the worst hot spots in the nation for COVID-19. The disease is widespread here, and health officials caution people to stay home as much as possible and wear masks in public.
Vice President Mike Pence, who visited Arizona on Wednesday, said he is deploying hundreds of medical personnel to assist the state.
Identified cases total 94,553 and known deaths are at 1,805. It’s unknown how many of these cases are currently sick or asymptomatic. The state does not report the number of recovered cases, though it does report hospital discharges.
On Thursday morning, the Department of Health Services posted a public service announcement on Twitter featuring department director Dr. Cara Christ showing how to properly wear and care for a cloth face mask.
On Wednesday, 4,878 new cases and 88 additional deaths were reported by the Arizona Department of Health Services, a high mark for the pandemic so far.
Tuesday’s reported cases looked nearly as high, but that was attributed by the Arizona Department of Health Services to a reporting delay by the state’s largest tester, leading many cases that should have been included in Monday’s report to be added on Tuesday.
Hospitalizations in inpatient and ICU beds by COVID-19 patients rose on Friday to the highest reported levels since the pandemic began in March. The number of COVID-19 patients seen in the emergency room skyrocketed to 1,847 on Thursday but was down on Friday to 1,443. The number of ventilators in use by COVID-19 patients decreased from a Thursday record of 489 to 413.
Saturday’s dashboard shows 85% of current inpatient beds and 90% of ICU beds were in use, which includes people being treated for COVID-19 and other patients.
Arizonans have reported delays in getting tested and waits of as long as three weeks to get results. The daily cases reported are not all from the previous day’s results — they could have been tests conducted weeks ago.
Reported cases in Arizona: 94,553
Cases increased by 2,695 to 94,553 identified cases since the outbreak began.
County cases: 59,829 in Maricopa, 9,313 in Pima, 7,048 in Yuma, 4,237 in Pinal, 3,848 in Navajo, 2,423 in Apache, 2,107 in Coconino, 1,932 in Santa Cruz, 1,358 in Mohave, 881 in Yavapai, 740 in Cochise, 357 in La Paz, 335 in Gila, 127 in Graham and 18 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.
The rate of cases per 100,000 people is highest in Santa Cruz County, followed by Navajo, Apache and Yuma.
The Navajo Nation reported 7,613 cases and 369 confirmed deaths as of Wednesday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The Arizona Department of Corrections said 457 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday; 3,819 inmates have been tested out of a population of more than 40,000. Four incarcerated people have been confirmed to have died of COVID-19.
While race/ethnicity is unknown for 49% of cases, 23% of cases are Hispanic or Latino, 16% of cases are white, 7% are Native American and 2% are Black.
Laboratories have completed 589,040 diagnostic tests for COVID-19, 12.9% of which have come back positive.
Reported deaths in Arizona: 1,805
On Saturday, 17 new deaths were reported. This comes after 31 new deaths were reported Friday and 37 new deaths were reported Thursday.
County deaths: 880 in Maricopa, 282 in Pima, 133 in Navajo, 98 in Yuma, 96 in Coconino, 91 in Apache, 88 in Mohave, 75 in Pinal, 24 in Santa Cruz, 14 in Cochise, 10 in Yavapai, six in Gila, five in La Paz and fewer than three in Graham and Greenlee.