Arizona reports 605 new coronavirus cases, 27 more 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 Saturday, Sept. 12.

PHOENIX – Arizona health authorities reported 605 new coronavirus cases and 27 more deaths on Saturday morning.

That put the state’s documented totals at 208,128 COVID-19 infections and 5,315 deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

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

The number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients fell to 574 on Friday, the fewest since April 16.

The number of COVID-19 patients in ICU beds rose to 185, an increase from the day before but still the second-fewest since it was 155 on April 8, the first day AZDHS reported the statistic.

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 82% full on Friday for the third consecutive day. The inpatient occupancy rate peaked at 88% on July 9-10.

The ICU occupancy rate was 78% for the third consecutive 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.

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% at the end of June.

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.

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.

The rolling seven-day average for newly reported cases was 406 on Friday, according to tracking by The Associated Press. It’s back down after a slight bump at the beginning of September and is the lowest since May 28.

The seven-day average of newly reported deaths was 19.82, the lowest since June 12.

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.

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.

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

• Globally, there were more than 28.5 million COVID-19 cases and 916,000 deaths as of Saturday morning, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The figures for the U.S. were around 6.4 million cases and 193,000 deaths.

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