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| Republic of Arizona
Arizona reported more than 4,300 new cases of COVID-19 and 20 new known deaths on Friday, with Maricopa County for the first time to exceed 200,000 cases of coronavirus.
The continued rise in cases and hospitalizations comes as Arizona’s healthcare system braces for the pressures of a new wave of COVID-19. The situation worsens both in the state and nationally as the Thanksgiving weekend begins.
A report released last week by Arizona State University predicts that Arizona hospital capacity will be exceeded in December and that without additional public health measures, holiday gatherings are likely to cause 600 to 1,200 more deaths from COVID -19 in Arizona by February 1 thereafter. death projections from the current scenario.
Arizona’s identified COVID-19 cases increased from 4,314 Friday to 318,638, and 20 new known deaths were reported, bringing the total number of known deaths to 6,588, according to the daily report from the Department of Health Services of the United States. Arizona.
New cases have eclipsed 1,000 in 25 of the past 28 days, with 18 of those days seeing more than 2,000 new cases for the first time since the state’s summer surge. Friday was the eleventh time the state had reported more than 4,000 new cases in one day since the start of the pandemic (six days in late June and early July, plus Thursday, Friday, Sunday, Tuesday and Friday last). The United States recently reported new record daily cases.
Rates of new cases in Arizona are lower than rates reported in 24 other states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker. Cases are rising in North Dakota, where the rate of new cases per 100,000 people in the previous seven days was 155 on Wednesday, the CDC reports. By comparison, Arizona’s rate was 53.7.
The increase in new COVID-19 cases in the summer was an early indicator of more hospitalizations and deaths in the weeks to come.
In his first media availability since October 29, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said last week that the increase in COVID-19 in the state means “getting back to normal is not in the cards at the moment “. But Ducey has not announced any new restrictions or requirements on Arizonans to stop the spread of COVID-19, despite growing calls in recent days for a statewide mask warrant and other measures.
Arizona could receive its first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine before Christmas, Ducey said Tuesday in an interview with KTAR radio. Health care workers and first responders will take priority.
The number of patients hospitalized statewide for known or suspected cases of COVID-19 was 2,301 on Thursday, the highest number reported since July 31. At the peak of the Arizona outbreak in July, the number of hospitalized patients suspected or confirmed to have the virus exceeded 3,000.
The number of patients with suspected or known COVID-19 in intensive care units in Arizona was 532 as of Thursday, which was the highest number of intensive care beds used in a single day since August 8. The level is lower than it was in July, when intensive care beds used for COVID-19 hit 970.
The number of Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators was 325 on Thursday, a slight drop from Wednesday’s 335 – which was the most ventilators used in a single day since August 10. As of mid-July, as many as 687 patients across the state with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 were on ventilators.
Wednesday’s dashboard shows 85% of inpatient beds and 89% of intensive care beds in use, which includes people being treated for COVID-19 and other patients. COVID-19 patients used 27% of all inpatient beds and 30% of intensive care beds. Overall, 39% of the fans were on.
After hospital occupancy rates in Arizona hit 90% this weekend, the state’s COVID-19 surge line suspended requests for out-of-state patient transfers.
The percentage of positivity, which refers to the percentage of positive COVID-19 diagnostic tests, has increased, which many health experts see as an early indicator of a spike in illness.
Among the results of known diagnostic tests from last week, the percentage of positivity was 12%, down from 11% the week before, according to the state, which has a unique way of calculating the percentage of positivity. The percentage of positivity was 4% for several weeks in August, September and October, according to state data.
Johns Hopkins University calculates Arizona’s seven-day moving average of the percentage of positives at 19.2% on Friday. This shows that the state’s positivity percentage is on the rise.
A 5% positivity rate is considered a good benchmark for the spread of the disease to be under control.
Arizona cases reported: 318,638
Cases have increased by 4,314, or 1.4%, from the 314,326 cases identified Thursday since the start of the epidemic.
Cases by county: 201,340 in Maricopa, 38,668 in Pima, 17,476 in Yuma, 16,110 in Pinal, 7976 in Navajo, 7,275 in Coconino, 6,079 in Mohave, 5,309 in Apache, 5,028 in Yavapai, 3,779 in Santa Cruz, 3,529 in Cochise, 2,897 in Gila, 2,132 in Graham, 825 in La Paz and 215 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.
The case rate per 100,000 population is highest in Yuma County, followed by Apache, Santa Cruz and Navajo counties. The rate in Yuma County is 7,600 cases per 100,000 population. For comparison, the average US rate on Wednesday was 3,820 cases per 100,000 population, according to the CDC.
The Navajo Nation reported 15,862 cases and 645 confirmed deaths as of Thursday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Tribal chiefs reinstated a three-week home lockdown from November 16 due to what authorities called the “uncontrolled spread” of COVID-19 in tribal communities.
The Arizona Corrections Department reported that 2,954 inmates tested positive for COVID-19 as of Wednesday, including 1,067 in Tucson; 41,870 inmates statewide have been tested. A total of 996 prison staff have self-reported positive, the state penitentiary department said. Twenty people incarcerated in Arizona have been confirmed to have died from COVID-19, and eight more deaths are under investigation.
While race / ethnicity is unknown for 29% of all COVID-19 cases statewide, 29% of cases are Hispanic or Latin American, 28% are white, 5% are Native American, 3 % are black and 1% are Asian / Pacific Islander.
Of those who have tested positive in Arizona since the start of the pandemic, 15% were under 20, 47% were between 20 and 44, 15% were between 45 and 54, 12% were between 55 and 64 and 12% were over 65.
Laboratories performed 2,203,517 diagnostic tests for COVID-19, of which 10.4% came back positive. This number now includes both PCR and antigen testing. The percentage of positive tests had increased since mid-May but began to decline in July and remained stable around 4% for several weeks, according to the state. Last week it was 12%, compared to 11% and 9% the previous two weeks. State numbers omit data from laboratories that do not electronically report.
The state’s health department has started including probable cases such as anyone who tests positive for antigen, another type of test to determine current infection. Antigen testing (not related to antibody testing) is a new type of COVID-19 diagnostic test that uses a nasal swab or other fluid sample to test for current infection. Results are usually produced within 15 minutes.
A positive antigen test result is considered very accurate, but there is an increased risk of false negative results, according to the Mayo Clinic. Depending on the situation, Mayo Clinic officials say a doctor may recommend a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test to confirm a negative antigen test result.
Arizona had the 25th highest overall infection rate in the country on Wednesday. North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Utah, Montana, Idaho, Illinois, Wyoming, Tennessee, Minnesota, Arkansas, Kansas , Mississippi, Rhode Island, Alabama, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Nevada, Indiana, Missouri, Florida and Georgia, according to the CDC.
Arizona’s infection rate is 4,279 cases per 100,000 people, according to the CDC. The national average is 3,820 cases per 100,000 population, although rates in hard-hit states at the start of the pandemic may be undercounted due to the lack of available tests in March and April.
Deaths reported: 6,588
Deaths by County: 3,966 in Maricopa, 682 in Pima, 380 in Yuma, 269 in Navajo, 258 in Pinal, 259 in Mohave, 195 in Apache, 169 in Coconino, 116 in Yavapai, 90 in Gila, 79 in Cochise, 69 in Santa Cruz, 34 in Graham, 20 in La Paz and under three in Greenlee.
People aged 65 and over accounted for 4,715 of the 6,588 deaths, or 72%. Subsequently, 16% of deaths were in the 55-64 age group, 7% of 45-54 year olds and 6% of 20-44 year olds.
While race / ethnicity is unknown for 11% of deaths, 44% of those who died were White, 29% were Hispanic or Latino, 11% were Native American, 3% were black, and 1% were Asian / Islander Pacific state data show.
As of Friday morning, the global death toll was 1,435,284 and the United States had the highest death toll of any country in the world, at 263,468, according to Johns Hopkins University. Arizona’s total death toll of 6,588 deaths represents 2.5% of COVID-19 deaths in the United States on Friday.
Arizona’s COVID-19 death rate was 90 per 100,000 people Wednesday, according to the CDC, placing it 13th in the country in a state ranking that separates New York and New York state. The US average is 79 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the CDC.
Behind New York City, with 288 deaths per 100,000 population, the CDC placed the highest death rates ahead of Arizona like New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Louisiana, Mississippi, Rhode Island, North Dakota, Illinois, District of Columbia, South Dakota and Michigan.
Contact the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8529. Follow her on Twitter @brieannafrank.
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