Arizona reports 8,883 new COVID-19 cases, 46 deaths on Saturday



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(AP Photo / Dmitri Lovetsky)

This is a regularly updated story with the latest information on the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for January 2, 2021.

PHOENIX – Arizona health officials reported 8,883 new cases of coronavirus and 46 more deaths on Saturday.

Saturday’s figures bring the state’s documented totals to 539,150 COVID-19 infections and 9,061 deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services scorecard.

And as was the case throughout December, several COVID-19 measures in Arizona are at or near pandemic highs.

Arizona’s number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospital patients fell to 4,484 on Friday, from 4,501 on Thursday.

The number of COVID-19 patients in the state’s intensive care beds rose to 1,074 on Friday.

Statewide, suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients occupied 52% of all inpatient beds, tying the record, and 61% of all intensive care beds.

Overall, inpatient beds and intensive care beds were each 93% full. The 132 remaining beds in the ICUs were the fifth fewer in the pandemic.

The rising tide of COVID-19 patients is restricting the space left for other patients in Arizona hospitals. Banner Health, the state’s largest hospital system, said on Wednesday it would suspend all elective surgeries in Arizona from Friday in response to the deluge of COVID-19 patients.

Arizona’s weekly percentage of positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic tests, an indicator of the virus’s spread in the community, is at an all-time high.

The percentage of positivity was 25% out of 94,119 tests processed this week. If that holds up, it will surpass last week’s 21% record mark.

Official positivity rates are based on when samples are taken, not when they are reported, so the percentage for the past few weeks may fluctuate as labs catch up with testing and results. are state-documented.

The seven-day moving average of new cases reported by the Department of Health has been trending down from its peak two weeks ago and was at 6,190.29 on Friday, according to the Associated Press tracking.

The seven-day average of newly reported COVID-19 deaths increased this week and stood at 86.57 on Friday, the highest level since Christmas Eve.

Daily state updates feature case, death, and testing data after the state receives and confirms statistics, which can be delayed for days or more. They do not represent actual activity over the past 24 hours.

Hospitalization data published each morning is reported electronically the night before by 100 hospitals across the state, as required by the decree.

COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has no impact on some people and is severely disabling or fatal for others. People who are infected without symptoms – which include, but are not limited to, cough, fever, and difficulty breathing – are able to spread the virus.

Diagnostic tests are available in hundreds of places across Arizona and should be researched by anyone with symptoms or who may have been exposed to an infected person. Information on locations, times and registration can be found on the Department of Health Services website.


Below are Saturday’s latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic statewide, nationwide, and globally:

  • Globally, there were an estimated 84.084 million cases of COVID-19 and 1.829 million deaths on Saturday morning, according to research from Johns Hopkins University. The figures for the United States were around 20.138 million cases and 347,844 deaths.

For all articles, information and updates on the coronavirus from KTAR News, visit ktar.com/coronavirus.



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