Arizona reports 496 new coronavirus cases, 30 more deaths

Sep 9, 2020, 8:26 AM | Updated: Sep 10, 2020, 7:58 am

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

This is a regularly updated story with the latest information, news and updates about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for Wednesday, Sept. 9.

PHOENIX – Arizona health authorities reported 496 new coronavirus cases and 30 more deaths on Wednesday morning.

That put the state’s documented totals at 206,541 COVID-19 infections and 5,251 deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Multiple key metrics about the severity of Arizona’s pandemic, including COVID-related hospitalizations, are at or near the lowest they’ve been in months.

The rolling seven-day average for newly reported cases was 529 on Tuesday, according to tracking by The Associated Press, near the lowest it’s been since early June.

The seven-day average of newly reported deaths was 29.83, the second lowest seen since June 23.

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.

As cases skyrocketed in June, local governments in many parts of Arizona — including all of Maricopa County — implemented face mask requirements, and Gov. Doug Ducey issued statewide executive orders to close certain businesses and restrict restaurant occupancy.

The spread of COVID-19 soon slowed and has been steadily falling since the peak of the pandemic. Much of the state has hit benchmarks established by the health department that allow certain businesses to reopen under capacity restrictions and other regulations.

Arizona’s weekly positive rate for COVID-19 diagnostic tests is on pace to be 4% for the fourth consecutive week, the lowest it’s been since the early days of the pandemic in March. It had been as high as 20% the week starting June 28.

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 near their lowest points since the health department started reporting them in April.

The number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients increased by one to 658 on Tuesday, the second fewest since April 26.

The number of COVID-19 patients in ICU beds dropped to 203, the fewest since it was 155 on April 8, the first day AZDHS reported COVID hospitalizations.

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 79% full on Tuesday, unchanged from the previous day.

The inpatient occupancy rate peaked at 88% on July 9-10.

The ICU occupancy rate was 76% on Tuesday, unchanged from the previous day.

ICU occupancy rate 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.

The 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.

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

The Scottsdale Unified School District board voted Wednesday to implement a phased-return to classrooms for students.
The University of Arizona postponed plans Wednesday for in-person commencements in October and December, citing ongoing coronavirus concerns.
The Navajo Nation reported 12 new coronavirus cases and zero additional deaths, bringing the totals to 9,915 infections and 527 fatalities.
President Donald Trump seemed to understand the severity of the coronavirus threat even as he was telling the nation that the virus was no worse than the seasonal flu and insisting that the U.S. government had it totally under control, according to a new book by journalist Bob Woodward.
Late-stage studies of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate are on temporary hold while the company investigates whether a recipient’s “potentially unexplained” illness is a side effect of the shot.
The Phoenix City Council allocated $2.5 million from the CARES Act to secure thousands of masks, gallons of hand sanitizer and gowns for Arizona schools.
For the first time in five months, athletic fields in Phoenix parks will be available for reservation starting Thursday.
Globally, there were more than 27.6 million COVID-19 cases and 898,000 deaths as of Wednesday morning, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The figures for the U.S. were around 6.3 million cases and 189,000 deaths.