A dose of the new Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is being prepared at a vaccination event at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in South Los Angeles on March 11, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The event was hosted by California health officials and FEMA. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is now the third coronavirus vaccine to receive emergency authorization for use in the United States. (Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information on the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for March 12, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona public health officials reported 1,367 new cases of coronavirus and 55 additional deaths due to COVID-19 on Friday.
The state’s documented total has been updated to 831,832 coronavirus infections and 16,519 deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Key metrics used to determine the extent of the pandemic continue to improve and are the lowest in months, with more than 20% of Arizona’s population receiving at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients in state hospitals dropped to 879 on Thursday, the lowest since October 31st. The number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients has dropped to 236, the lowest since November 2nd.
The weekly percentage of Arizona in Arizona for COVID-19 diagnostic tests, an indication of how much the virus is spreading in the community, is at a five-month low.
Of the 33,923 people tested so far this week, 5% got a positive result. The rate for 77,971 people last week was 5%, the lowest since early October.
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 Arizona Department of Health’s daily updates include current case, death, and testing data after the state receives and confirms statistics, which can 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 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.
Diagnostic tests are available in hundreds of locations in Arizona and should be sought by someone with symptoms or who has been exposed to an infected person. Information on places, schedules and registration can be found on the website of the Department of Health Services.
For details on the availability of COVID-19 throughout the country, the ADHD website has a vaccinations page with a map with locations and information on registration and eligibility.
Below are Friday’s latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic from across the state, country and world:
- Health officials in Arizona reported Friday that the P1 COVID-19 variant, commonly referred to as the Brazilian variant, has been confirmed in three test samples from the state.
- The Navajo Nation reported 19 new cases of coronavirus and three additional deaths, bringing the documented total to 29,930 infections and 1,215 deaths.
- Doug Ducey, Governor of Arizona, tells KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show that the state can meet President Joe Biden’s goal of qualifying for the COVID-19 vaccine for all adults by May 1 if the supply is adequate.
- Thousands of frontline transport workers serving the Phoenix subway will be able to receive a COVID-19 vaccine shot at a private event this weekend.
- Worldwide, there were approximately 118.7 million COVID-19 cases and 2.63 million deaths as of Friday morning, according to research by Johns Hopkins University. The figures for the US were about 29.29 million cases and 531,000 deaths.