Arizona health department reports 4,433 new coronavirus cases, 31 deaths

This is a regularly updated story with the latest information, news and updates about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for Friday, July 3.

PHOENIX — The Arizona health department reported 4,433 new coronavirus cases and 31 deaths Friday morning.

That brings the state’s documented totals to 91,858 COVID-19 cases and 1,788 fatalities.

The single-day pandemic highs were 4,878 cases and 88 deaths, both reported Wednesday.

The Arizona Department of Health Services has been providing case and testing updates on its website each morning. The dashboard includes, among other information, testing trends, updated hospital capacity and a ZIP code map of cases.

The daily reports present data after the state receives statistics and compiles them, which can lag by several days. They aren’t meant to represent the actual activity over the past 24 hours.

With cases rising and hospitals filling up, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday put the state’s reopening plans into reverse, shutting down bars, nightclubs, gyms, movie theaters and water parks for at least a month and pushing back the start of on-campus K-12 schooling for at least two weeks.

Ducey said to expect case counts to keep increasing for several weeks before the impact of the new policies shows up in the data.

New cases have been increasing at a faster rate than testing has been increasing, indicating community spread of a virus that has no impact on some people and is seriously debilitating or fatal for others. Infected people who don’t show symptoms are still capable of spreading the coronavirus.

The positive percentage of PCR tests, which detect active infections, continues to soar.

There have been more than 577,000 PCR tests given in Arizona, including 17,535 added to the total Friday. Of the total, 12.8% have come back positive as of Friday. The positive rate was 12.5% a day earlier and just 6.7% on the last day of May.

The weekly positive rate for PCR tests has risen every week since the week starting May 10, when it was 5%.

Of the PCR samples collected last week that have been processed, a pandemic-high 20% have come back positive. So far this week, that figure is 22%.

ICU bed usage reached a pandemic-high of 91% in Arizona on Thursday, according to the latest state data, with the available supply down to a low point of 156 beds.

Overall inpatient bed usage was at 85%, 1 percentage point below the pandemic high last seen June 26.

In other notable hospital data from Thursday related to confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients:

• 489 were on ventilators, the highest number recorded and an increase of 1 from the previous day.
• 741 were in ICU beds, a decrease of 18 from the record 683 from the previous day.
• 341 were discharged, 90 less than the previous day.

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Below are Friday’s latest developments about the coronavirus pandemic from around the state, country and world:

• Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez announced an additional 64 coronavirus cases and four related deaths among the Navajo Nation. Officials will enforce a 57-hour lockdown which begins Friday at 8 p.m. and will be lifted Monday at 5 a.m.
• Life Time will comply with Ducey’s executive order and will close indoor gyms, studios and exercise floors through Monday to allow the company time to meet with the governor’s team. Mountainside Fitness announced they will not comply and will remain open until they have their day in court Monday.
• Banner Health detailed what Monday’s activation of the state’s Crisis Standard of Care Plan means as resources tighten. It includes changes in staffing models at hospitals, alternate areas/sites for patient care, providers in different roles than usual and the use of different equipment.
• Vitalant will be testing donors’ blood for coronavirus antibodies as part of its Saving Arizona Blood Drive on Sunday.

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