People wearing facial masks expect to receive a coronavirus vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccination center in Jerusalem on Monday, January 4, 2021. (Photo AP / Oded Balilty)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information on coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond January 5, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials reported 253 new coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, a record number and 5,932 additional cases.
The Arizona Department of Health Services said 215 of the deaths were the result of the death certificate matching process, but did not say how old they were. Only three deaths were recorded in total on Sunday and Monday.
On July 30, the previous maximum number of deaths recorded in one day was 172.
The state’s documented total moved to 567,474 COVID-19 infections and 9,317 deaths, according to the health department board.
On Monday, Arizona had the highest per capita case rate in the past seven days and the seventh highest per capita mortality rate, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Meanwhile, state hospitals continued to see a record number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients.
The number of patients hospitalized at COVID-19 Hospital in Arizona rose to 4,789 on Monday, surpassing the previous day’s record by 142.
The number of patients with COVID-19 in state ICU beds rose to 1,096 on Monday, surpassing the previous day’s record by 14.
Patients with state-wide, suspicious, or confirmed COVID-19 occupied 56% of all hospital beds and 62% of all ICU beds, both records.
Overall, hospital beds and ICU beds were 92% full each.
Arizona’s weekly positive percentage for diagnostic tests for COVID-19, an indicator of how widespread the virus is spreading in the community, is the highest it has ever been. Of the 149,961 people made last week, 25% got a positive result. This is 4 percentage points above the previous record.
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 continuous average for recently reported health department coronavirus cases was 8,159.86 for Monday, below the previous day’s record level, but still the second-highest in history, according to follow-up The Associated Press.
The seven-day average of recently reported COVID-19 deaths was 85 on Monday, compared to the previous day.
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 following are the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic across the state, the country and the world:
- Arizona currently would not be the country’s worst hot spot for COVID-19 if state officials had been doing a better job of enforcing mitigation rules, said public health expert Dr. Will Humble. The Mike Broomhead Show on KTAR News 92.3 FM.
- The Arizona Department of Health Services announced that 101,030 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to the state and a second county has moved to phase 1B distribution. Gila joined Pinal in the second phase, which includes child education and care workers, protective services occupations, adults 75 and older, essential services and critical industry workers and adults at high risk. in congregated environments.
- Gov. Doug Ducey announced additional $ 2 million in funding for Arizona restaurants to continue to expand the outdoor dining room amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Globally, as of Tuesday morning, there were about 85.84 million cases of COVID-19 and 1.86 million deaths, according to research from Johns Hopkins University. U.S. figures were about 20.83 million cases and 353,000 deaths.