Arizona reports zero new coronavirus deaths, 311 additional cases

This is a regularly updated story with the latest information, news and updates about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for Monday, Aug. 24.

PHOENIX – Arizona health authorities reported zero new coronavirus deaths and 311 additional cases on Monday morning.

It was the second consecutive Monday with no new deaths reported.

That put the state’s documented totals at 198,414 COVID-19 infections and 4,771 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Multiple key metrics about the severity of Arizona’s pandemic are at or near the lowest they’ve been in a month or more. Coronavirus-related hospitalizations are down to levels not seen since May.

The rolling seven-day average for newly reported cases declined Sunday to 652.29, the lowest seen since June 2, according to tracking by The Associated Press.

The seven-day average of newly reported deaths ticked up to 37.86, the second-lowest mark since July 8.

The seven-day average for new cases peaked July 6 at 3,844, and the stat for deaths reached a high of 94 on July 30.

The spread of coronavirus in Arizona has been slowing in the month-plus since the implementation of face mask requirements by local governments in many areas — including all of Maricopa County — and statewide executive orders to close businesses such as bars and gyms and to restrict restaurant occupancy.

Those moves were made after the state became a global hot spot for the coronavirus, which 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.

Arizona’s weekly positive rate for COVID-19 diagnostic tests, which shows how much the virus is spreading, has declined for seven consecutive weeks.

For the 45,596 samples taken last week that have been processed and recorded, the positive rate is 5%, the lowest since the week starting May 10.

Weekly 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 Arizona health department’s daily reports 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 hospital data posted each morning, however, is reported the previous evening by the hospitals and shows coronavirus-related hospitalizations at their lowest points since early June.

The number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients fell to 908 on Sunday, the fewest since May 26.

The number of COVID-19 patients in ICU beds increased by 16 to 345, the second-fewest since May 25.

COVID-19 inpatients peaked at 3,517 on July 13, and COVID-19 patients in ICU beds topped out at 970 the same day.

Overall, inpatient beds were 81% full on Sunday, 1 point lower than the previous day. The inpatient occupancy rate peaked at 88% on July 9-10.

The ICU occupancy rate was 78%, 1 point lower than the previous day. It topped out at 91% on July 7.

Hospital bed data on the health department website does not include surge beds that have not been activated but can potentially increase capacity.

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

• Arizona’s health department issued an emergency measure requiring schools, child care centers and shelters to report coronavirus outbreaks to local health departments.
• There were more than 23.4 million coronavirus cases and 809,000 deaths reported globally as of Monday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University. For the U.S., there were more than 5.7 million cases and 176,000 deaths.

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