(Photo from the University of Arizona)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information on coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond February 18, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona officials reported 1,143 new coronavirus cases and 213 additional deaths from COVID-19 on Thursday.
It was the sixth day in a row with less than 2,000 new cases, but the highest death rate since Feb. 9.
The state’s updated documented totals were 802,198 coronavirus infections and 15,276 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services ’COVID-19 board.
After rising to a record high in early January, the number of cases and hospitalizations has dropped to levels prior to Thanksgiving in Arizona.
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 confirmed or suspected in state hospitals fell to 1,823 on Wednesday, the lowest since Nov. 18.
Arizona’s weekly positive percentage for diagnostic tests for COVID-19, an indicator of how widespread the virus is in the community, has been declining since the beginning of the year.
Of the 16,336 people tested so far this week, 10% got a positive result. The rate was 9%, the lowest in nearly four months, for 90,955 people tested 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 State Department of Health coronavirus cases was 1,687.14 for Wednesday, according to The Associated Press, the lowest note since Nov. 9.
The average of seven days of reported deaths has remained stubbornly high since early February, but two days of sharp declines have brought it down to 85.86 by Wednesday. That’s less than half the pandemic record seen a month ago and for the first time since Jan. 4, it was below the July peak of Arizona’s first wave.
In Wednesday’s update of U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona remained third in the nation for per capita deaths from COVID-19 in the past seven days, but finished 19th in the cases.
Daily updates from the Arizona Department of Health present case, death, and test data after the state receives statistics and confirms them, which can be delayed for 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 previous evening to 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.
For statewide vaccine availability information, the ADHS website has a vaccine search page with a location map and registration information.
The following are the latest developments on Thursday on the coronavirus pandemic across the state, the country and the world:
- The Navajo nation reported 43 new cases of coronavirus and 13 additional deaths, accounting for a documented total of 29,386 infections, including seven delayed cases, and 1,127 deaths.
- Some, but not all, of Arizona’s delayed COVID-19 vaccine shipments are heading to the state, authorities reported.
- This was said by US Senator Mark Kelly KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News to track the federal government’s request for resources to test immigrants ’COVID-19s at the border.
- According to Arizona’s COVID-19 board, the vaccine administration is about to completely consume the state’s available supply as early as Friday. But the numbers can be misleading.
- The Arizona Department of Health Services board says 1,339,829 of the state’s 1,395,300 assigned doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, an increase of 48,776 over the previous day’s update. More than a million people have now received at least one shot in Arizona.
- The University of Arizona COVID-19 vaccination site is now officially a state operation. The initial round of 12,000 appointments quickly filled up earlier this week.
- Globally, there were approximately 110.02 million cases of COVID-19 and 2.43 million deaths as of Thursday morning, according to research from Johns Hopkins University. U.S. figures were about 27.83 million cases and 490,000 deaths.