Arizona COVID-19 projections call for peak of 600 hospital beds by May 22

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Health Services has updated its model and projections of coronavirus in the state, Director Cara Christ announced Wednesday.

Christ said in a blog, “While many of the current models show that Arizona’s capacity is sufficient to meet the projected need for hospital beds and ventilators, in order to protect Arizonans, we have been preparing for a worst-case scenario while working to facilitate much better outcomes.”

The recently updated version included newer data, and the model shifted. The most recent baseline estimates a peak need for 600 hospital beds and 300 ICU beds around May 22.

State officials on Wednesday reported that Arizona was up to 5,459 coronavirus cases, an increase of 208 from the previous morning.

There are now 229 deaths from COVID-19 in the state, 21 more than the last report.

Earlier in the week, the department updated its virus dashboard to include more specific location data, such as the ZIP Code case directory.

Christ wrote that the department had been working with Arizona State University and the University of Arizona developing a more targeted model for the state.

“It is the responsibility of public health to plan for the worst-case scenario,” Christ said in the post.

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