Wake County Health Department workers, along with nurses and volunteers from hospitals and emergency services in the area, help during a COVID-19 vaccination event at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC, on Thursday 11 February 2021. Two months after the first 19 shots were administered, the race to vaccinate older Americans is gaining strength, with more than half of the states reporting a third of people over 65 or more have received their first dose. (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 12, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials reported 2,426 new coronavirus cases and 172 additional deaths from COVID-19 on Friday.
The state’s documented total moved to 793,532 infections and 14,834 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services ’COVID-19 board.
The virus is still spreading across the state, although the rise that made Arizona the hottest spot in the nation last month is backtracking, reflecting a trend observed across the country.
COVID-19 hospitalizations and daily case averages are now lower than those recorded at the July peak of the state’s first wave, but the death rate remains higher.
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 confirmed or suspected in Arizona fell to 2,396 on Thursday, the lowest since Nov. 27. The number of beds used by patients with COVID-19 decreased to 705, the lowest since December 4th.
On Thursday, statewide, patients with COVID-19 occupied 28% of all hospital beds and 39% of all ICU beds. Overall, hospital beds had 90% capacity and ICU beds 87%.
Arizona’s weekly positivity rate for diagnostic tests for COVID-19, an indicator of how many viruses are spreading in the community, has decreased each week since it reached 24% during the past week. start on December 27th.
Of the 40,925 people tested so far this week, 9% got a positive result. The positivity percentage was 12% for 109,361 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 results are documented by the state.
The seven-day average of recently reported state health department coronavirus cases was 2,758.57 for Thursday, according to follow-up to The Associated Press, the second-lowest mark since Nov. 18.
The average of seven days of recently reported deaths has not changed much since early February and was 130 by Thursday.
In Thursday’s update of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona ranked fourth in the country for per capita deaths from COVID-19 in the past seven days and seventh in 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 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.
For more information on statewide vaccine availability, the ADHS website has a vaccine search page with a map of locations and registration information.
Below are Friday’s latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic across the state, country and world:
- The Navajo nation reported 66 new cases of coronavirus and 6 additional deaths, bringing the total to 29,167 documented infections, including three delayed cases, and 1,103 fatalities.
- The Phoenix Union High School District said its winter sports season, delayed as a precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been canceled.
- U.S. Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona does not believe a provision to raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 belongs to COVID’s next relief package.
- The Arizona Department of Health Services reported that 1,096,126 of the state’s 1,220,400 assigned doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, an increase of more than 50,000 from the previous day.
- A professor at Arizona State University says smokers have a high risk of more serious COVID-19-related effects due to the damage caused to smoking in the lungs.
- President Joe Biden said the United States will have enough supply of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the summer to inoculate 300 million Americans.
- Globally, there were about 107.9 million cases of COVID-19 and 2.37 million deaths on Friday morning, according to research from Johns Hopkins University. U.S. figures were about 27.39 million cases and 475,000 deaths.