Arizona sees bump in reported COVID deaths with more than 300 in 2 days

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PHOENIX – Arizona reported almost as many new COVID-19 deaths on Thursday and Friday as it did for the previous seven days combined.

Today’s #COVID19 dashboard update adds 3,054 cases and 115 deaths.

Vaccines and boosters greatly reduce the chances of severe illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19 and its variants.

Find a provider: https://t.co/q2kfD0sU6i pic.twitter.com/92om6PnlDM

— AZ Dept of Health (@AZDHS) February 18, 2022

After reporting 333 new deaths for the weeklong span ending Wednesday, about 48 per day, the state upped its fatality count by 209 on Thursday and 115 on Friday.

That came after a total of just 25 new deaths were reported Sunday-Wednesday. The state’s daily updates contain deaths and cases from multiple days because of lags in reporting and data processing.

Even with the two-day bump, Arizona’s COVID death rate is still well below what it was at the peak of the latest wave, which was fueled by the highly contagious omicron variant. The seven-day average spiked to 103 on Feb. 1, which was the highest since the previous February.

According to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, Arizona is second only to Mississippi for most COVID deaths per 100,000 residents since the start of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the state’s pace for newly reported cases, COVID hospitalizations and diagnostic test positivity are all at or below pre-omicron levels.

Here’s the latest state data on the pandemic (hospital, case, death and testing statistics are based on Friday morning’s update of the Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 dashboard; seven-day averages are based on tracking by The New York Times):

COVID-19 cases

• Documented pandemic total – 1,962,920
• Daily new reports – Friday: 3,054; One day earlier: 2,781; One week earlier: 2,783; Pandemic high: 27,681 (Jan. 22, 2022)
• Seven-day average – Thursday: 2,978; One day earlier: 3,635; One week earlier: 6,384; Pandemic high: 20,778 (Jan. 24, 2022)

COVID-19 deaths

• Documented pandemic total – 27,513
• Daily new reports – Friday: 115; One day earlier: 209; One week earlier: 52; Pandemic high: 335 (Jan. 12, 2021)
• Seven-day average – Thursday: 54; One day earlier: 48; One week earlier: 84; Pandemic high: 175 (Jan. 13, 2021)

COVID-19 hospitalizations

• COVID inpatients – Thursday: 1,867; One day earlier: 1,915; One week earlier: 2,436; Pandemic high: 5,082 (Jan. 11, 2021)
• COVID ICU patients – Thursday: 407; One day earlier: 415; One week earlier: 499; Pandemic high: 1,183 (Jan. 11, 2021)

Statewide hospital capacity

• Inpatients beds available – Thursday: 535 (6% of capacity); One day earlier: 495 (6%); One week earlier: 604 (7%)
• Percentage of inpatient beds with COVID patients – Thursday: 21%; One day earlier: 22%; One week earlier: 28%
• ICU beds available – Thursday: 149 (9% of capacity); One day earlier: 136 (8%); One week earlier: 137 (8%)
• Percentage of ICU beds with COVID patients – Thursday: 25%; One day earlier: 25%; One week earlier: 31%

Laboratory diagnostic testing

• Weekly percent positivity – Samples taken this week: 11%; Last week: 16%; Two weeks ago: 22%; Pandemic high (for a full week): 34% (Jan. 16-22, 2022)
• Find a testing site: ADHS (statewide)

Find a vaccine site

• ADHS (statewide); Maricopa County Public Health (metro Phoenix)

Additional details

The ADHS daily case and death updates can cover multiple days of reporting because of data processing procedures and aren’t meant to represent the actual activity over the previous 24 hours. The hospitalization numbers posted each morning are reported electronically the previous evening by hospitals across the state.

The actual caseload is likely higher than officially reported because ADHS data is based mainly on electronic laboratory reporting and doesn’t include results from home kits unless individuals report them to their health care providers.

Vaccines have proven to reduce the likelihood of a COVID infection causing serious illness or death, even with the highly contagious omicron variant. Booster shots provide additional protection and are approved for individuals who received their second Pfizer (ages 12 and up only) or Moderna doses at least five months ago or the Johnson & Johnson shot at least two months ago.

The minimum age for vaccination is 5 for Pfizer and 18 for Moderna or Johnson & Johnson.

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