Arizona reports 3,471 new COVID-19 cases, surpasses 14K deaths
Feb 6, 2021, 8:34 AM | Updated: 9:31 am
(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for Feb. 6, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials on Saturday reported 3,471 new coronavirus cases and 63 additional deaths from COVID-19.
The state’s documented totals moved to 779,093 infections and 14,011 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 dashboard.
The virus remains widespread across the state, although the surge that made Arizona the nation’s hot spot last month is receding.
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In Friday’s update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona dropped to No. 5 in the nation in average cases per capita over the last seven days. Arizona held at fourth in deaths, behind Indiana, Alabama and Iowa.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are now lower than they were at the July peak of the state’s first wave, but cases and deaths are still higher.
The number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients fell to 3,060 on Friday, the fewest since Dec. 6. The number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients dipped to 849, the fewest since Dec. 13.
Statewide, COVID-19 patients took up 35% of all inpatient beds and 47% of all ICU beds on Wednesday. Overall, inpatient beds were at 90% of capacity and ICU beds at 88%.
Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, has been receding but remains at a substantial level.
Of the 62,465 people tested so far this week, 13% received a positive result. The recorded positive rate for last week is 16% for 125,908 people tested, the lowest since before Thanksgiving and the fourth consecutive weekly decline.
Official positivity rates are based on when the samples are taken, not when they are reported, so the percentage for recent weeks can fluctuate as labs get caught up on testing and the results are documented by the state.
The seven-day average for the state health department’s newly reported coronavirus cases was at 3,826 for Friday, according to tracking by The Associated Press, the lowest mark since Nov. 30 but still higher than the July peak of the first wave.
The seven-day average of newly reported deaths fell after climbing for four straight days on Friday, to 132.29.
The state’s daily updates present case, death and testing data after the state receives statistics and confirms them, which can lag by several days or more. They don’t represent the actual activity over the past 24 hours.
The hospitalization data posted each morning is reported electronically the previous evening by 100 hospitals across the state, as required under executive order.
COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, has no impact on some people and is seriously debilitating or fatal for others. Infected people without symptoms — which include but are not limited to cough, fever and difficulty breathing — are capable of spreading the virus.
Diagnostic testing is available at hundreds of locations across Arizona and should be sought out by anybody with symptoms or who may have been exposed to an infected person. Information about locations, schedules and registration can be found on the Department of Health Services website.
The department also has a vaccine-finder page with a map of locations and information about registration.
Below are Saturday’s latest developments about the coronavirus pandemic from around the state, country and world:
- Globally, there were about 105.49 million COVID-19 cases and 2.3 million deaths as of Saturday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University research. The figures for the U.S. were around 26.81 million cases and 459,617 deaths.
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