A COVID-19 patient, placed in a ventilator, rests in St. Louis Hospital. Joseph of Orange, California, on Thursday, January 7, 2021. California health authorities on Thursday reported a total record of 1,042 coronavirus deaths during the two days of the deaths of many hospital charges of unprecedented cases. (Photo by AP / Jae C. Hong)
This is a periodically updated story with the latest information on coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond January 8, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials reported 11,658 new coronavirus cases and 197 additional deaths from COVID-19 on Friday.
It was the third largest daily death report, and the first three arrived on Tuesday.
The state’s documented total moved to 596,251 COVID-19 infections and 9,938 deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services scorecard.
On Thursday, Arizona had the second highest coronavirus case rate, lagging behind New Jersey after several days at No. 1 and the third highest per capita mortality rate nationwide in seven days, according to the Centers for U.S. Disease Control.
Arizona hospitals continued to see a record or near-record number of patients confirmed or suspected of COVID-19.
The number of COVID-19 hospitalized in Arizona fell Thursday to 4,907, 13 below the record set a day earlier and a second higher.
The number of patients with COVID-19 in state ICU beds amounted to 1,122, 21 more than the mark a day earlier.
Patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 statewide reported 57% of all hospital beds and 63% of all ICU beds.
Overall, hospital beds and ICU beds were 93% full, coinciding with pandemic highs. Only 131 ICU beds were not used.
Arizona’s weekly positivity percentage for diagnostic tests for COVID-19, an indicator of how far the virus is spreading in the community, is the highest it has ever been.
So far this week, 26% of the 70,526 people who took the test had a positive result. The positivity percentage was a record 25% last week.
Official positivity rates are based on when samples are taken, not when they are reported, so the percentage in recent weeks may fluctuate as labs catch up on testing. and the state documents the results.
The seven-day average of recently reported health department coronavirus cases was 9,198 on Thursday, the highest in history and the first time above 9,000, according to The Associated Press.
The average of seven days of COVID-19 deaths reported recently was 125.29 for Thursday, more than 20 above the previous day’s record.
Daily status updates present case, death, and evidence data after the state receives and confirms statistics, which can take several days or more. They do not represent the actual activity during the last 24 hours.
Hospitalization data released each morning is reported electronically 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 impact on some people and is severely debilitating or deadly to others. Asymptomatic infected people, which include, among other things, cough, fever, and difficulty breathing, are able to spread the virus.
Diagnostic tests are available at hundreds of sites across Arizona and should be looked for 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 Friday’s latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic across the state, country and world:
- Globally, there were about 88.2 million cases of COVID-19 and 1.9 million deaths as of Friday morning, according to research from Johns Hopkins University. U.S. figures were about 21.59 million cases and 365,000 deaths.