Arizona reports 683 new coronavirus cases, 8 additional 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 Tuesday, Oct. 13.

PHOENIX – Arizona health authorities reported 683 new coronavirus cases and eight additional deaths on Tuesday morning.

That put the state’s documented totals at 226,734 COVID-19 infections and 5,767 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Key metrics about the severity of Arizona’s pandemic have dropped dramatically since peaking during the summer.

The number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospital inpatients rose to 706 on Monday, near the highest in the past month.

The number of COVID-19 patients in ICU beds dipped to 146 and appears to have plateaued after rising in recent weeks.

The hospitalization numbers are far below the pandemic peaks of 3,517 inpatients and 970 ICU patients, both recorded July 13.

Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic testing has been at 4% each of the past six weeks, with 74,739 tests recorded last week.

It was 6% this week as of Tuesday’s update, with just 1,845 tests recorded.

The positivity rate, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, 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 hospitalization data posted each morning, however, is reported the previous evening by the hospitals.

The rolling seven-day average for the state health department’s newly reported cases was up to 711.43 through Monday, according to tracking by The Associated Press. That’s the highest since Sept. 23 but far below the July 6 peak of 3,844.

The seven-day average of newly reported deaths fell to 7.43, the lowest level since April 12. The death average topped out at 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 slowed after those steps were taken. All of Arizona’s counties have since hit benchmarks established by the health department that allow closed businesses to reopen under capacity restrictions and other regulations.

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.

---

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

• The Navajo Nation reported 9 new coronavirus cases and 0 additional deaths, bringing the documented totals to 10,737 infections and 571 deaths.
• Twenty-one Phoenix-area schools have reported COVID-19 outbreaks, but that’s no reason to panic, Maricopa County’s top health official said.
• The IKEA US Community Foundation has donated $1,147,083 to the AZ Coronavirus Relief Fund, which supports Arizona’s frontline medical workers and nonprofits that serve vulnerable populations. The donation amount matches the unemployment insurance benefits collected by Arizona IKEA workers during COVID-related closures, according to a press release.
• Globally, there were more than 37.88 million COVID-19 cases and 1.08 million deaths as of Tuesday morning, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The figures for the U.S. were around 7.8 million cases and 215,000 deaths.

Follow @KTAR923