COVID-19 case counts rise as Ariz. hospital beds are 93% full

Arizona’s hospitals continue to strain under the increasing load of COVID-19 patients as the state remained highest in the nation for its rate of new cases, adding about 7,200 new cases and 127 new known deaths on Wednesday.

The state’s seven-day new-case average ranks highest nationwide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker as of Tuesday.

Arizona’s rate of new positive cases over the last seven days was 112.1 cases per 100,000 people. The next-highest states behind Arizona were California and Rhode Island, with rates of 95.8 new cases per 100,000 people over the last seven days, per the CDC. The U.S. average for new cases is 64.5 cases per 100,000 people.

The state data dashboard shows 93% of all ICU beds and 93% of all inpatient beds in Arizona were in use Tuesday, with 61% of ICU beds and 57% of nonICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. Statewide, there were 129 ICU beds and 604 non-ICU beds available.

The number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was at 4,877 on Tuesday, the highest recorded, passing the previous record of 4,789 on Monday.

The number of patients with suspected or known COVID-19 in ICUs across Arizona was at 1,084 on Tuesday, a slight drop from a record high 1,096 on Monday.

Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators tallied 747 on Tuesday, down from the record high 782 ventilators in use on Sunday.

Tuesday saw 2,253 emergency room visits for COVID-19, slightly under last Tuesday’s single-day record of 2,341 positive or suspected COVID-19 patients seen in emergency departments across the state.

Wednesday’s 7,206 new cases brought the total number of identified COVID-19 cases in the state to 574,680. As of Wednesday, 9,444 Arizonans are known to have died from the disease, according to the data dashboard from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Reported cases in Arizona: 574,680. Cases since the outbreak began increased by 7,206, or 1.27%, from Tuesday’s 567,474 identified cases. These daily cases are grouped by the date they are reported to the Arizona Department of Health Services, not by the date the tests were administered.

Cases by county: 354,810 in Maricopa, 76,243 in Pima, 30,729 in Pinal, 29,394 in Yuma, 14,109 in Mohave, 12,491 in Yavapai, 12,011 in Navajo, 11,981 in Coconino, 8,148 in Cochise, 7,942 in Apache, 6,367 in Santa Cruz, 4,789 in Gila, 3,548 in Graham, 1,686 in La Paz and 428 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.

The Navajo Nation reported 23,978 cases and 837 confirmed deaths in total as of Tuesday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

The Arizona Department of Corrections reported 7,608 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday, including 1,548 in Tucson, 1,520 in Yuma, 1,186 in Eyman and 876 in Douglas; 43,016 inmates statewide have been tested. A total of 1,930 prison staff members have self-reported testing positive, the department said. Twenty-six incarcerated people in Arizona have been confirmed to have died of COVID-19, with 13 additional deaths under investigation.

Arizona as of Tuesday had the 17th highest overall case rate in the country since Jan. 21. Ahead of Arizona since the pandemic began are North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Tennessee, Utah, Nebraska, Rhode Island, Idaho, Kansas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Wyoming, Arkansas, Illinois and Montana, according to the CDC.

Deaths by county: 5,416 in Maricopa, 1,142 in Pima, 549 in Yuma, 389 in Pinal, 365 in Mohave, 364 in Navajo, 252 in Apache, 243 in Yavapai, 225 in Coconino, 149 in Gila, 144 in Cochise, 110 in Santa Cruz, 54 in Graham, 38 in La Paz and four in Greenlee.