Arizona reports 5,918 new coronavirus cases
Arizona reported about 5,900 new COVID-19 cases and 195 new known deaths on Wednesday as hospitalizations for the disease have been gradually declining but the state remained near first nationwide for its weekly COVID-19 case and death rates.
In about one year since the first case was announced in Arizona, a total of 738,561 COVID-19 cases have been identified across the state. As of Wednesday, 12,643 Arizonans are known to have died from the disease, according to the data dashboard from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Arizona’s seven-day, new-case average ranked second among all states on Tuesday, after ranking first and second for much of January, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker.
The Arizona data dashboard shows 92% of all ICU beds and 91% of all inpatient beds in the state were in use Tuesday, with 57% of ICU beds and 49% of non-ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. Statewide, 141 ICU beds and 805 non-ICU beds were available.
The number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was at 4,250 on Tuesday, below the record 5,082 inpatients on Jan. 11.
The number of patients with suspected or known COVID-19 in ICUs across Arizona was at 1,024 on Tuesday, below the record high of 1,183 on Jan. 11.
Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators tallied 686 on Tuesday, below the record-high 821 reached on Jan. 13.
Tuesday saw 1,922 patients in the emergency room for COVID-19, below the Dec. 29 single-day record of 2,341 positive or suspected COVID-19 patients seen in emergency departments across the state.
Wednesday’s numbers
Reported cases in Arizona: 738,561. Cases since the outbreak began increased by 5,918, or 0.81%, from Tuesday’s 732,643 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: 459,501 in Maricopa, 98,743 in Pima, 41,485 in Pinal, 34,637 in Yuma, 18,632 in Mohave, 15,989 in Yavapai, 14,959 in Coconino, 14,149 in Navajo, 10,295 in Cochise, 9,388 in Apache, 7,359 in Santa Cruz, 5,867 in Gila, 4,848 in Graham, 2,195 in La Paz and 514 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.
The Navajo Nation reported 27,665 cases and 985 confirmed deaths in total as of Tuesday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The Arizona Department of Corrections reported 9,547 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday, including 1,825 in Tucson, 1,814 in Yuma, 1,581 in Eyman and 1,126 in Douglas; 43,447 inmates statewide have been tested. A total of 2,429 prison staff members have self-reported testing positive, the department said. Thirty incarcerated people in Arizona have been confirmed to have died of COVID-19, with 17 additional deaths under investigation.
Arizona as of Tuesday had the seventh-highest overall case rate in the country since Jan. 21, 2020. Ahead of Arizona in cases per 100,000 people since the pandemic began are North Dakota, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Tennessee and Wisconsin, according to the CDC.
Arizona’s infection rate is 10,000 cases per 100,000 people, the CDC said. The national average is 7,576 cases per 100,000 people, though the rates in states hard hit early on in the pandemic may be an undercount because of a lack of available testing in March and April.
Deaths by county: 7,174 in Maricopa, 1,680 in Pima, 685 in Yuma, 579 in Pinal, 507 in Mohave, 419 in Navajo, 362 in Yavapai, 300 in Apache, 266 in Coconino, 217 in Cochise, 182 in Gila, 145 in Santa Cruz, 65 in Graham, 56 in La Paz and six in Greenlee.
The global death toll as of Wednesday morning was 2,160,850 and the U.S. had the highest death count of any country in the world, at 425,257, according to Johns Hopkins University. Arizona’s death total of 12,643 deaths represents about 3% of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. as of Wednesday.