Arizona reports 172 more COVID deaths and 2,525 new cases

Arizona reported a record 172 additional known COVID-19 deaths and 2,525 new cases on Thursday, as hospital numbers continue slight declines but remain relatively high.

The 172 new known deaths — the most reported in one day — represent the new deaths identified by the Arizona Department of Health Services that day, but many occurred days and weeks prior. Seventy-eight of the 172 new deaths are from death certificate matching, according to the department.

Inpatient hospitalizations, ICU beds in use and ventilators in use by suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients all continued gradual decreases on Wednesday, according to hospital data reported to the state. Emergency department visits by COVID-19 patients increased slightly from the day prior, but still appear to be generally trending downward. But hospitals remain under high pressure, with many COVID-19 patients.

Identified cases rose to 170,798 and known deaths total 3,626, according to the daily report by the Arizona Department of Health Services. Given slow test result turnaround times, new daily case often represent cases identified days and weeks prior.

Thursday's dashboard shows 83% of inpatient beds and 86% of ICU beds were in use, which includes people being treated for COVID-19 and other patients. Overall, 47% of ventilators were in use.

Here's what you need to know about Thursday's new numbers.

Reported cases in Arizona: 170,798

Cases increased by 2,525, or 1.5%, from Wednesday's 168,273 identified cases since the outbreak began.

County cases: 114,852 in Maricopa, 15,884 in Pima, 10,761 in Yuma, 7,875 in Pinal, 5,182 in Navajo, 2,969 in Apache, 2,933 in Coconino, 2,865 in Mohave, 2,577 in Santa Cruz, 1,698 in Yavapai, 1,467 in Cochise, 778 in Gila, 468 in La Paz, 435 in Graham and 54 in

Greenlee, according to state numbers.

The state's total case count includes individuals who tested positive on a diagnostic PCR test as well as individuals who tested positive on an antibody test who had COVID-19 symptoms or were linked to a known case. Of the cases, 99% are individuals with a positive diagnostic test, according to the state health department.

The rate of cases per 100,000 people is highest in Santa Cruz County, followed by Yuma, Navajo and Apache counties.

The Navajo Nation reported 8,968 cases and 453 confirmed deaths as of Thursday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

Reported deaths: 3,626 known deaths

On Thursday, 172 new deaths were reported, although many likely occurred on previous days or weeks, and 78 were from death certificate matching.

County deaths: 2,011 in Maricopa, 450 in Pima, 247 in Yuma, 187 in Navajo, 149 in Mohave, 129 in Apache, 132 in Pinal, 117 in Coconino, 59 in Yavapai, 50 in Santa Cruz, 47 in Cochise, 29 in Gila, 10 in La Paz, eight in Graham and fewer than three in Greenlee.

Hospitalizations continue declining

Inpatients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 tallied 2,348 on Wednesday, continuing a gradual plateau and decline over the past three weeks. Hospitalizations have eclipsed 1,000 daily since June 1 and have had surpassed 3,000 daily for most of July until last week. Inpatient hospitalizations are gradually decreasing.

ICU bed use for suspected and confirmed positive COVID-19 patients was at 758 beds in use on Wednesday, the first time the metric has dropped below 800 beds in use since July 3.

Ventilator use for suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients was at 531 on Wednesday, down from Tuesday's 561 ventilators in use, and generally continuing what appears to be a twoweek long gradual decrease.