(AP Photo / Petr David Josek)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information on the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for December 27, 2020.
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials on Sunday reported 1,296 new cases of coronavirus and three additional deaths.
The state’s documented total rose to 494,337 COVID-19 infections and 8,427 deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services dashboard.
Several COVID-19 statistics in Arizona were at or near pandemic highs.
The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospital patients in Arizona reached 4,190 on Saturday, after a decline in the daily high of 4,226 on Thursday.
The number of COVID-19 patients in the ICU beds in the state increased to 988, setting a record for the third time in the last four days.
Across the country, COVID-19 patients are suspected or confirmed, 49% of all beds have been admitted internally, compared with 50% in the two preceding days and 55% of all ICU beds.
Overall, indoor beds were 89% filled and ICU beds were 90% full. The state had 177 unused ICU beds on Saturday, 23 more than the previous day.
Arizona’s weekly percentage of positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic tests, an indication of the spread of the virus in the community, was 22% through 87,461 tests for this week. If it holds, it will break the record of 21% from the week beginning June 28th.
Official positivity rates are based on when the samples are taken, not when they are reported, so the percentage for recent weeks may vary as laboratories are caught up in the test and the results are documented by the state.
The seven-day moving average for the newly reported cases from the health department was 6,401.43 for Saturday, according to a finding by The Associated Press.
The average of seven days of the newly reported COVID-19 deaths on Saturday was 69.57, which decreased for the fourth consecutive day.
The daily update of current case, death and testing data is available after the state receives and confirms statistics, which may be delayed by a few days or longer. It does not represent the actual activity during the last 24 hours.
The hospital data posted each morning is electronically reported the night before by 100 hospitals across the state, as required by executive order.
COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has no effect on some people and is severely debilitating or deadly to others. Infected people without symptoms – which include coughing, fever and breathing problems – can spread the virus.
Information about test rooms can be found on the Arizona Department of Health Services website.
Below are Sunday’s latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic from across the state, country and world:
- The Navajo Nation reported 122 new cases of coronavirus and ten additional deaths, bringing the documented total to 22,277 infections and 777 deaths.
- President Donald Trump does not look closer to signing an end-of-year COVID-19 relief and spending bill as millions lose unemployment benefits, and the government has closed a pandemic and begged lawmakers to step up tree.
- Worldwide, there were about 80.45 million COVID-19 cases and 1.75 million deaths as of Sunday morning, according to research from Johns Hopkins University. The figures for the US were about 18.9 million cases and 331,930 deaths.