Catching up after holiday break, Arizona reports over 7,000 new COVID cases

PHOENIX – Getting caught up on data processing after the holiday break, Arizona health officials reported 7,641 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, the largest daily update since January.

Today’s #COVID19 dashboard update adds 7,641 cases and no deaths. Just as cases added were significantly lower yesterday, cases added today are much higher because there was no data processing on the holiday. Details: https://t.co/qAyQQ65pcP pic.twitter.com/zJ9eVzcRvK

— AZ Dept of Health (@AZDHS) December 27, 2021

But there were no additional deaths reported for the second consecutive day, putting the state’s documented totals at 1,362,693 infections and 23,982 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 dashboard.

Monday’s new case batch was expected to be larger than usual after only 344 cases were reported the previous morning. Arizona’s seven-day average for new cases was 2,607 after Sunday’s update, according to tracking by The New York Times.

Hospitalizations for confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases have been trending downward statewide in recent weeks, with some bumps along the way.

The number of COVID inpatients was at 2,327 on Sunday, up 16 from the previous day but the second-fewest since Nov. 16. ICU use for COVID patients was at 630 beds, down 12 from the previous day and the fewest since Nov. 22.

Overall remaining hospital space was reported at 863 inpatient beds (10% of capacity) and 114 ICU beds (7% of capacity) on Sunday. COVID cases were taking up 27% of statewide inpatient beds and 38% of the ICU beds.

Arizona’s percent positivity for diagnostic COVID testing was at 13% for samples taken last week as of Monday’s dashboard update, up 2 percentage points from the previous week.

ADHS released new data earlier this month showing that Arizonans who aren’t fully vaccinated against COVID were nearly four times more likely than those who are to test positive in October and over 15 times more likely to die from the virus.

The state dashboard on Monday showed 69.1% of Arizonans old enough to get vaccinated had received at least one shot, with 58.4% fully vaccinated. The national rates are 77.3% of age-eligible individuals with at least one dose and 65.6% fully vaccinated.

The minimum age to receive the Pfizer shot is 5, and it’s 18 for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. The Pfizer version has full Food and Drug Administration approval, while the other two were granted emergency use authorization.

Health officials strongly recommend booster shots for adults (including people 16 and older for Pfizer) who received their second Pfizer or Moderna doses more than six months ago and those who got the Johnson & Johnson shot at least two months ago.

For details about statewide vaccine availability, the ADHS website has a vaccine-finder page with locations and other information.

For information about metro Phoenix vaccine availability, Maricopa County Public Health has a locator page that lists pharmacies, government-run sites, health clinics and pop-up distribution events. Appointments may be required depending on the provider.

COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 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.

Information about where to get tested for COVID-19 can be found on the ADHS website.

The state health department’s daily updates present case and death 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 numbers posted each morning are reported electronically the previous evening by hospitals across the state.

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