| Arizona Republic
Arizona has surpassed 10,000 known deaths and 600,000 cases of COVID-19, as the state is again the worst in the country for new cases.
The nearly 100 new known deaths the state reported on Saturday brought the known death rate from COVID-19 to 10,036.
The state’s average of seven days for new business is again the highest nationwide after being second on Friday. Before that, Arizona was in first place three days in a row, according to the COVID Data Tracker of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The number of new positive cases in Arizona over the past seven days was 126.4 cases per 100,000 people per CDC. The US average for new cases is 68.7 cases per 100,000 people.
The state reported more than 17,200 new cases on Sunday, the highest number of new COVID-19 cases recorded in a single day since the pandemic, which overturned the state’s previous record as of Dec. 8 by nearly 5,000 cases. The record follows the weekend of Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
The state data dashboard shows that 92% of all ICU beds and 93% of all inpatients in Arizona were used, with 54% of ICU beds and 57% of non-ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. Overall, there were 138 ICU beds and 633 non-ICU beds available.
Hospitals are experiencing a ‘boom in a boom’, with signs of worse weeks ahead.
The number of patients hospitalized in Arizona due to known or suspected COVID-19 cases was 4,918 on Friday, slightly lower than the record high of 4,920 on Wednesday. By comparison, the highest number of COVID-19 recordings in one day during the summer boom was 3,517 on July 13th.
The number of patients with a suspected or known COVID-19 in ICUs across Arizona was 1121 on Friday, one below Thursday’s record high of 1,122. During the summer boom mid-July, ICU beds used for COVID-19 peaked at 970.
Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators reached 791 on Friday, compared to Thursday’s record high of 799. During the summer boom, July 16 was the highest day for 687 patients.
On Thursday, there were 2,109 visits to COVID-19 emergencies, among the 29-day record of 2,341 positive or suspected COVID-19 patients seen in emergency departments across the state.
New cases in Arizona have obscured 5,000 over the past 31 days. Public health experts expect the virus to spread further due to personal contact during the holidays.
Saturday’s 11,094 new cases brought the total number of COVID-19 cases identified in the state to 607,345. 98 additional deaths were reported Saturday, bringing the known total of Arizona people who died from the disease to 10,036, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ data dashboard.
The percentage of positivity, which refers to the percentage of COVID-19 diagnostic tests that are positive, has generally increased, which many health experts see as an early indication of an increase in diseases.
Arizona’s positivity rate continues to rise. Last week, it stood at 25%. For the week before, it was 20%, according to the state, which has a unique way of calculating percentage positivity. The percentage positivity was 4% for a few weeks during August, September and October, according to state data.
Johns Hopkins University calculates Arizona’s seven-day moving average at 20.2% as of Saturday. It shows the state’s percentage of positivity peaked at 24.2% last month.
A positivity rate of 5% is considered a good measure that the spread of the disease is under control.
Arizona began its first COVID-19 vaccinations for Phase 1A the week of December 14, but the process has been slow. Healthcare workers, first responders, residents of long-term care facilities and other vulnerable populations will be prioritized in the early stages, just like teachers, according to Governor Doug Ducey. He said the vaccine will be free to anyone who needs it as soon as it becomes more available.
What to know about Saturday’s numbers
Reported Matters in Arizona: 607 345.
Cases since the onset of the outbreak have increased by 11,094, or 1.86%, from Friday’s 596,251 identified cases. These daily cases are grouped by the date they are reported to the Arizona Department of Health Services, not the date the tests were administered.
Cases by province: 374 740 in Maricopa, 80 642 in Pima, 32 960 in Pinal, 30 847 in Yuma, 15 027 in Mohave, 13 293 in Yavapai, 12 610 in Coconino, 12 370 in Navajo, 8 737 in Cochise, 8 201 in Apache, 6,620 in Santa Cruz, 5,006 in Gila, 4,012 in Graham, 1,821 in La Paz and 459 in Greenlee, according to state figures.
The number of cases per 100,000 people is the highest in the province of Yuma, followed by the provinces of Santa Cruz, Apache and Navajo. The rate in Yuma County is 13,414 cases per 100,000 people. By comparison, the U.S. average rate as of Friday was 6,488 cases per 100,000 people, according to the CDC.
The Navajo Nation reported 24,776 cases and 866 confirmed deaths in total as of Friday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Tribal leaders have implemented an exclusion at home and reinstated the weekend’s nightmare due to what officials call the ‘uncontrolled distribution’ of COVID-19 in the tribal communities.
The Arizona Department of Corrections reported that 7,823 inmates tested positive for COVID-19 as of Friday, including 1,571 in Tucson, 1,530 in Yuma, 1,272 in Eyman and 911 in Douglas; 43 055 prisoners across the country were tested. A total of 2,007 prison staff members tested positive for self-reports, the department said. Twenty-six prisoners in Arizona have been confirmed dead to COVID-19, with another 15 deaths being investigated.
Race / ethnicity is unknown for 23% of all COVID-19 cases nationwide, but 34% of people are white, 29% are Hispanic or Latino, 5% are Native Americans, 3% are black and 1% are ‘ an Asian / Pacific Islander.
Of those who tested positive in Arizona since the onset of the pandemic, 15% were younger than 20, 45% were 20-44, 15% were 45-54, 12% were 55-64, and 13% were older than 65.
Laboratories completed 3,044,506 unique individual diagnostic tests for COVID-19, of which 13.7% returned positive. The number includes both PCR and antigen testing. The percentage of positive tests has increased since mid-May, but it started to decrease in July, and it was constant for a few weeks per country. It was at 25% last week. The state numbers release data from laboratories that do not report electronically.
The Arizona Department of Health Services has started including probable cases as someone with a positive antigen test, another type of test to determine the current infection. Antigen testing (not related to antibody testing) is a newer type of COVID-19 diagnostic test that uses a nasal swab or other fluid sample to test the current infection. Results are usually produced within 15 minutes.
A positive antigen result is considered very accurate, but the chance of false-negative results is greater, says the Mayo Clinic. Depending on the situation, Mayo Clinic officials say a doctor may recommend a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test to confirm a negative antigenic result.
Arizona has the 14th highest overall fall in the country since January 21 as of Friday. Before Arizona in cases per 100,000 people since the pandemic began, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Utah, Iowa, Rhode Island, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Idaho, Arkansas, Kansas and Indiana, according to the CDC.
The CDC’s infection rate is 8,032 cases per 100,000 people. The national average is 6,488 cases per 100,000 people, although rates in states hit hard in the early pandemic could be an undercount due to a lack of available tests in March and April.
Deaths reported in Arizona: 10,036
Deaths by country: 5,767 in Maricopa, 1,219 in Pima, 573 in Yuma, 417 in Pinal, 389 in Mohave, 372 in Navajo, 275 in Yavapai, 259 in Apache, 233 in Coconino, 164 in Cochise, 154 in Gila, 116 in Santa Cruz, 55 in Graham, 39 in La Paz and four in Greenlee.
People aged 65 and over accounted for 7445 of the 10,036 deaths, or 74%. Thereafter, 15% of the deaths in the age group were 55-64, 6% were 45-54 and 5% were 20-44 years old.
While race / ethnicity is unknown for 9% of deaths, 47% of those who died whose race / ethnicity was known were white, 28% were Hispanic or Latino, 9% were Native Americans, 3% were black and 1 % were Asian / Pacific Islander, state data show.
The world death toll was 1,916,091 on Saturday morning and according to Johns Hopkins University, the US had the highest death rate of any country in the world, at 368,947. Arizona’s deaths total 10,1036 deaths represent 2.7% of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. as of Saturday.
According to the CDC, the COVID-19 death rate in Arizona was 133 per 100,000 people as of Friday, placing it 13th in the country in a ranking that separates New York City from New York State. The U.S. average is 109 deaths per 100,000 people, the CDC said.
New York City has the highest death rate, with 302 deaths per 100,000 people. This is followed by New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, North Dakota, Connecticut, South Dakota, Mississippi, Louisiana, Illinois, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Contact the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8529. Follow her on Twitter @brieannafrank.
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