Arizona nears 800,000 known COVID-19 cases
Arizona on Monday reported a relatively low 1,338 new COVID-19 cases, no new known deaths and declining hospitalizations as the state nears 800,000 identified cases and 15,000 known deaths from the disease.
Arizona’s seven-day, new-case average ranked 14th on Sunday among all states, 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 state’s rate of new positive cases over the past seven days was 31.9 cases per 100,000 people, per the CDC. South Carolina was first with 55.9 cases per 100,000. The U.S. average for new cases was 28.3 cases per 100,000 people.
No new deaths were added Monday, keeping Arizona’s known COVID-19 death count at 14,978. Few new deaths are typically reported on Mondays.
In just over one year since the first case was announced in Arizona, a total of 798,608 COVID-19 cases have been identified across the state. February has seen relatively lower case counts.
The Arizona data dashboard shows 87% of all ICU beds and 88% of all inpatient beds in the state were in use Sunday, with 36% of ICU beds and 25% of non-ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. Statewide, 236 ICU beds and 1,049 non-ICU beds were available.
The number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was at 2,119 on Sunday, down from 2,213 on Saturday and 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 644 on Sunday, down from 661 on Saturday and below the record high of 1,183 on Jan. 11.
Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators tallied 397 on Sunday, just down from Saturday’s 399 and below the record-high 821 reached on Jan. 13.
Sunday saw 1,208 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.
Monday’s numbers
Reported cases in Arizona: 798,608.
Cases since the outbreak began increased by 1,338, or 0.17%, from Sunday’s 797,270 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: 499,105 in Maricopa, 107,058 in Pima, 44,795 in Pinal, 36,082 in Yuma, 20,575 in Mohave, 16,719 in Yavapai, 16,043 in Coconino, 15,263 in Navajo, 10,830 in Cochise, 10,154 in Apache, 7,577 in Santa Cruz, 6,288 in Gila, 5,218 in Graham, 2,356 in La Paz and 545 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.
The Navajo Nation reported 29,269 cases and 1,111 confirmed deaths in total as of Sunday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The Arizona Department of Corrections reported 11,685 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Friday, including 2,157 in Tucson, 2,005 in Yuma, 1,967 in Eyman, 1,221 in Lewis and 1,130 in Douglas; 43,602 inmates statewide have been tested. A total of 2,624 prison staff members have self-reported testing positive, the department said. Thirty-four incarcerated people in Arizona have been confirmed to have died of COVID-19, with 17 additional deaths under investigation.
Arizona as of Sunday had the sixthhighest 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 and Tennessee, according to the CDC.
Arizona’s infection rate is 10,927 cases per 100,000 people, according to the CDC.
The national average is 8,258 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: 8,505 in Maricopa, 2,075 in Pima, 758 in Yuma, 709 in Pinal, 600 in Mohave, 474 in Navajo, 440 in Yavapai, 350 in Apache, 302 in Coconino, 252 in Cochise, 206 in Gila, 165 in Santa Cruz, 68 in Graham, 67 in La Paz and seven in Greenlee.
The global death toll as of Monday morning was 2,401,392 and the U.S. had the highest death count of any country in the world, at 485,338, according to Johns Hopkins University.