Arizona reports a record number of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) who have or are suspected of having the coronavirus, and on Sunday announced more than 10,000 new cases and 42 deaths due to the virus.
The Republic of Arizona Monday reported that 4,390 COVID-19 patients were confirmed in hospital the previous day, significantly higher than the peak of 3,517 observed in the summer. About 1007 suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients were in ICUs and beat the previous record of 970 in July.
According to Arizona’s coronavirus data dashboard, 91 percent of ICU beds in the state are occupied and more than half by COVID-19 patients. There are currently less than 200 ICU beds and 1,000 non-ICU beds available, the Republic reports.
Along with record high ICU patients, the number of coronavirus patients in Arizona on ventilators also reached a record high on Sunday: 715.
The newspaper notes that the unusually high number of newly reported cases, 10,086, is because the state added multiple cases simultaneously after the recent holiday. According to the Republic, the number of new cases exceeded 2,000 for 31 of the past 33 days, and in 27 of those days, more than 4,000 cases were reported.
According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Arizona is currently ranked third in the United States in terms of the seven-day averages for new cases. datadashboard, surpassed only by California and Tennessee.
The impact of this past holiday has yet to be seen, but experts have warned that a new boom could be imminent as thousands of families gather, despite warnings from government agencies against it.
The state began its coronavirus vaccination plan on Dec. 14. Healthcare professionals, early responders and people in vulnerable populations were prioritized.
The order in which the vaccines are used has been left to the state governments to decide, and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey
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