(Photo by AP / Gerry Broome)
This is a periodically updated story with the latest information on coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond February 7, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials reported 1,544 new coronavirus cases and 37 additional deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday.
The state’s documented total moved to 780,637 infections and 14,048 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services ’COVID-19 board.
The virus continues to spread across the state, though the rise that made Arizona the hottest spot in the nation last month is backtracking.
In Saturday’s update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona ranked No. 5 in the country in the average number of cases per capita over the past seven days. Arizona fell to No. 5 dead, behind Indiana, Alabama, Iowa and Tennessee.
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 2,910 on Saturday, the lowest since Dec. 3.
Statewide, patients with COVID-19 occupied 34% of all hospital beds and 46% of all ICU beds on Saturday. 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 83,651 people tested so far this week, 12% 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 3,673.43 on Saturday, according to The Associated Press, the lowest mark since Nov. 23 but still higher than the July peak the first wave.
The average of seven days of reported deaths recently fell for the second day in a row on Saturday, to 130.43.
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.
The department also has a vaccine search page with a site map and registration information.
The following are the latest developments on Sunday on the coronavirus pandemic across the state, the country and the world:
- Worldwide, there were about 105.87 million cases of COVID-19 and 2.3 million deaths on Sunday morning, according to research from Johns Hopkins University. U.S. figures were about 26.92 million cases and 462,000 deaths.