Over 800 new COVID-19 cases and 19 deaths reported in Arizona

Arizona reported 844 new COVID-19 cases and 19 new known deaths Friday, continuing trends of relative plateaus over recent weeks.

Arizona’s seven-day case rate per 100,000 people ranked 44th on Thursday among all states and territories after ranking first and second for much of January, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker.

The states with a lower case rate over the past seven days were Texas, Louisiana, Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Hawaii, California and Alabama. Arizona ranked 51st among 60 states and territories on March 28, but its rank has fluctuated.

The state’s seven-day average for new reported COVID-19 cases was 736 on Friday. The average had reached as high as 9,800 in January, according to state data. Arizona’s seven-day death rate per 100,000 people ranked 22nd in the nation as of Thursday, according to the CDC.

The state’s overall COVID-19 death and case rates since Jan. 21, 2020, still remain among the worst in the country.

The COVID-19 death rate in Arizona since the pandemic began is 237 deaths per 100,000 people as of Thursday, according to the CDC, putting it sixth in the country in a state ranking that separates New York City from New York state. The U.S. average is 172 deaths per 100,000 people as of Thursday, the CDC said.

New York City has the highest death rate, at 387 deaths per 100,000 people, followed by New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Mississippi.

Arizona’s case rate per 100,000 people since the pandemic began also ranks sixth nationwide as of Thursday.

Arizona’s newly reported 19 deaths brought the known COVID-19 death count to 17,324.

A total of 862,497 COVID-19 cases have been identified across the state.

The Arizona data dashboard shows 86% of all ICU beds and 89% of all inpatient beds in the state were in use Thursday, with 11% of ICU beds and 7% of non-ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. Statewide, 237 ICU beds and 984 non-ICU beds were available.

The total number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was 618 on Thursday, down from 643 on Wednesday and far 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 189 on Thursday, the same as Wednesday but far below the record high of 1,183 on Jan. 11.

Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators tallied 86 on Thursday, about the same as Wednesday and well below the record high 821 reached on Jan. 13.

Thursday saw 954 patients in Arizona emergency rooms for COVID-19, well below the Dec. 29 single-day record of 2,341 positive or suspected COVID-19 patients seen in emergency departments across the state.

Friday’s numbers

Reported cases in Arizona: 862,497. Cases since the outbreak began increased by 844 or 0.1%, from Thursday’s 861,653 identified cases. These daily cases are grouped by the date they are reported to the state health department, not by the date the tests were administered.

Cases by county: 537,105 in Maricopa, 115,133 in Pima, 51,316 in Pinal, 37,082 in Yuma, 22,659 in Mohave, 18,692 in Yavapai, 17,717 in Coconino, 16,193 in Navajo, 11,908 in Cochise, 11,315 in Apache, 7,919 in Santa Cruz, 6,881 in Gila, 5,547 in Graham, 2,459 in La Paz and 571 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.

The Navajo Nation reported 30,491 cases and 1,276 confirmed deaths in total as of Thursday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

The Arizona Department of Corrections reported 12,280 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday, including 2,241 in Tucson, 2,031 in Eyman, 2,014 in Yuma, 1,303 in Lewis and 1,163 in Douglas; 46,665 inmates statewide have been tested. A total of 2,762 prison staff members have self-reported testing positive, the department said. Forty-three incarcerated people in Arizona have been confirmed to have died of COVID-19, with 12 additional deaths under investigation.

Deaths by county: 9,875 in Maricopa, 2,392 in Pima, 871 in Pinal, 831 in Yuma, 712 in Mohave, 531 in Navajo, 502 in Yavapai, 427 in Apache, 329 in Coconino, 284 in Cochise, 227 in Gila, 176 in Santa Cruz, 80 in La Paz, 77 in Graham and 10 in Greenlee.