Volunteers walk like people who have already received vaccines waiting inside vehicles at a COVID-19 mass vaccination site in a Six Flags Magic Mountain parking lot on February 2, 2020 in Valencia, California. The site at one of the top five coronavirus vaccine sites operating in Los Angeles County. (Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images)
This is a periodically updated story with the latest information on coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond February 3, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials reported 2,296 new coronavirus cases and 214 additional deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday.
It is the lowest daily case report since December 27 and the third lowest since November. It is also the first time from November 16 to 17, with less than 3,000 cases reported for two consecutive days.
The state’s documented total moved to 767,379 infections and 13,576 deaths, according to the COVID-19 board of the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Although metrics show that the massive rise in Arizona that began in November is backtracking, the virus continues to spread across the state.
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 3,456 on Tuesday, the lowest since Dec. 9. The number of ICU beds used by patients with COVID-19 increased from 11 to 955, the second lowest since 21 December.
Statewide, patients with COVID-19 occupied 40% of all hospital beds and 53% of all ICU beds on Tuesday. Overall, hospital beds had 90% capacity and ICU beds 91%.
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 125,134 people tested last week, 16% got a positive result, the lowest rate since before Thanksgiving and the fourth consecutive weekly decline.
So far this week, the positive rate recorded is 14% for 12,158 people tested.
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.
In Tuesday’s update of U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona fell from first to third in average cases per capita over the past seven days, behind Texas and South Carolina. Arizona fell from third to fourth in deaths, behind Alabama, South Carolina and Iowa.
The seven-day average of coronavirus cases recently reported by the state department was 4,634.29 for Tuesday, according to The Associated Press, the lowest note since Dec. 3. consecutive day at 130.57.
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 department also has a vaccine search page with a site map and registration information.
Below are Wednesday’s latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic across the state, the country and the world:
- Maricopa County Public Health said some unused coronavirus vaccines have been released, but only to maintain quality and safety.
- Nothing short of a miracle is how a Valley doctor described the recovery of a COVID-19 patient who spent more than four months in hospital.
- With increasing demand, the city of Phoenix launched its second COVID-19 mobile testing unit.
- President Joe Biden’s administration announced that access to COVID-19 vaccines is being expanded, releasing more doses to states and starting distributing them to retail pharmacies next week.
- Globally, there were about 103.98 million cases of COVID-19 and 2.26 million deaths as of Wednesday morning, according to research from Johns Hopkins University. U.S. figures were about 26.44 million cases and 447,000 dead.