(Photo AP / Ross D. Franklin, file)
This is a periodically updated story with the latest information on coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond January 30, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials reported 5,119 new coronavirus cases and an additional 76 deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday.
The state’s documented total moved to 753,379 infections and 13,098 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services ’COVID-19 board.
Following Friday’s update of U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona continued to lead the nation in average per capita cases over the past seven days and fell behind Alabama to No. 2 in deaths.
Key metrics indicate that the massive Arizona surge that began in November has reached its peak, reflecting national trends, but the virus continues to spread statewide.
The number of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 confirmed or suspected in Arizona fell to 3,828 on Friday, the lowest since Dec. 20.
On Friday, statewide, patients with COVID-19 occupied 44% of all hospital beds and 55% of all ICU beds. Overall, hospital beds had 90% full and ICU beds had 92% capacity.
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 72,626 people tested so far this week, 17% got a positive result, which would be the fourth consecutive weekly decline. For 154,860 people tested last week, the positive rate is 19%.
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 5,745.57 for Friday, according to follow-up to The Associated Press, the second-lowest mark on Dec. 31. up to 145.86.
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 map of active and pending sites and registration information.
Below are Friday’s latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic across the state, country and world:
- Globally, there were about 102.17 million cases of COVID-19 and 2.21 million deaths as of Friday morning, according to research from Johns Hopkins University. U.S. figures were about 25.93 million cases and 436,839 deaths.