(AP Photo / Wilfredo Lee)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information on the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for January 31, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials on Sunday reported 5,025 new cases of coronavirus and 22 additional deaths due to COVID-19.
The state’s documented total moved to 758,404 infections and 13,120 deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard.
As of Saturday’s update of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona has continued to lead the country in average cases per capita over the past seven days, slipping behind Alabama to No. 2 in deaths.
Key metrics indicate that the massive boom in Arizona that began in November is past its peak, reflecting national trends, but the virus is still widespread in the state.
The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients in Arizona dropped to 3,664 on Saturday, the lowest since December 13th. The number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients has dropped to 979, the least since Christmas Day.
Across the country, COVID-19 patients ingested 42% of all indoor beds and 54% of all ICU beds on Saturday. Overall, indoor beds were 90% full and ICU beds were 91% of capacity.
Arizona’s weekly percentage positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic tests, an indication of how much the virus is spreading in the community, is declining but remains at a significant level.
Of the 97,009 people tested so far this week, 16% got a positive result, which would be the fourth consecutive weekly decline. For 154,860 people tested last week, the positive rate is 19%.
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 in the test and the results are documented by the state.
According to the Associated Press, the second lowest point on December 5, the seven-day average for the recently reported cases of coronavirus was 5,431.71. According to the Associated Press, the second lowest point on December 5th. to 132.57.
The state’s daily updates provide current case, death, and testing data 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.
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.
The department also has a vaccine finder page with a map of active and pending locations and registration information.
Below are Saturday’s latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic from across the state, country and world:
- Worldwide, there were approximately 102.67 million COVID-19 cases and 2.22 million deaths as of Saturday morning, according to research by Johns Hopkins University. The figures for the US were about 26.07 million cases and 439,536 deaths.