(AP Photo / Bernat Armangue)
This is a periodically updated story with the latest information on coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond February 6, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials reported 3,471 new cases of coronavirus and an additional 63 deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday.
The state’s documented total moved to 779,093 infections and 14,011 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services ’COVID-19 board.
The virus is still spreading across the state, though the rise that made Arizona the nation’s hotspot last month is backtracking.
In Friday’s update of U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona fell to No. 5 in the country in average cases per capita over the past seven days. Arizona ranks fourth in deaths, behind Indiana, Alabama and Iowa.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are now lower than those recorded in the July peak of the state’s first wave, but cases and deaths are even higher.
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 confirmed or suspected in Arizona fell to 3,060 on Friday, the lowest since Dec. 6.
On Wednesday, statewide, patients with COVID-19 occupied 35% of all hospital beds and 47% of all ICU beds. Overall, hospital beds had 90% capacity and ICU beds 88%.
Arizona’s weekly positivity rate for diagnostic tests for COVID-19, an indicator of how far the virus is spreading in the community, has been declining, but remains at a substantial level.
Of the 62,465 people tested so far this week, 13% got a positive result. The positive rate recorded last week is 16% for 125,908 people tested, the lowest since before Thanksgiving and the fourth consecutive weekly decline.
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 results are documented by the state.
The seven-day average of recently reported state health department coronavirus cases was 3,826 on Friday, according to The Associated Press, the lowest mark since Nov. 30, but still higher than the July peak of the first onada.
The average of seven days of recently reported deaths fell after rising four days in a row on Friday, to 132.29.
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 communicated 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.
The department also has a vaccine search page with a site map and registration information.
Below are the latest developments on Saturday on the coronavirus pandemic across the state, the country and the world:
- Globally, there were approximately 105.49 million cases of COVID-19 and 2.3 million deaths as of Saturday morning, according to research from Johns Hopkins University. U.S. figures were about 26.81 million cases and 459,617 deaths.