Arizona reports 6,983 new coronavirus cases, 91 more deaths
Dec 11, 2020, 8:30 AM | Updated: 6:51 pm
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for Dec. 11, 2020.
PHOENIX – Arizona health authorities on Friday reported 6,983 new coronavirus cases with 91 additional deaths.
It was the third-highest single-day case report of the pandemic.
The state’s documented totals increased to 394,512 COVID-19 infections and 7,245 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Overall, multiple COVID-19 metrics in Arizona are at or approaching the highest they’ve been since the start of the pandemic.
The number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospital inpatients was 3,482 on Thursday. That’s a 51% increase since Thanksgiving, when it was 2,301. It’s also the most since July 14, the day after the record of 3,517 was set.
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The number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients in ICU beds was 809 on Thursday. That’s a 52% increase since Thanksgiving, when it was 532, and the most since July 27.
The number of COVID-19 patients in ICU beds peaked July 13 at 970.
Statewide, 40% of all inpatient beds and 46% of all ICU beds were filled with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients on Thursday, levels last seen in July.
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Overall, inpatient beds were 91% filled and ICU beds were 90% filled. It’s the first time of the pandemic that less than 10% of the state’s inpatient beds, just 744, remained available.
Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, reached its highest level in nearly five months last week at 18% for 158,596 tests.
As of Friday morning, the positivity rate was 18% for the 10,645 tests recorded this week.
The rate peaked at 21% at the end of June and was down to 4% as recently as early October.
Official positivity 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 rolling seven-day average for the health department’s newly reported cases dipped to 5,872.57 for Thursday, the first day-to-day decline this week but the second-highest ever, according to tracking by The Associated Press.
During the first wave of the pandemic in Arizona, when testing was less available than it is now, the seven-day case average peaked at 3,844 on July 6 and afterward fell as low as 373.14 on Sept. 12.
The seven-day average of newly reported deaths is lagging behind the case numbers but has been surging recently. It was at 47.57 for Thursday, an 81% increase since Thanksgiving and the second-highest since Aug. 17.
The seven-day death average peaked July 30 at 94 and fell afterward as low as 5.57 on Oct. 14.
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 is reported electronically the previous evening by 100 hospitals across the state, as required under executive order.
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.
Information about testing locations can be found on the Arizona Department of Health Services website.
Below are Friday’s latest developments about the coronavirus pandemic from around the state, country and world:
- The 33rd installment of the Arizona Renaissance Festival has been canceled because of the state of the coronavirus pandemic in Arizona.
- Students in the Phoenix Union High School District will remain in a virtual instruction method when school resumes in January, according to a press release.
- The Navajo Nation reported 231 new coronavirus cases and 12 more deaths, bringing the documented totals to 19,199 infections and 711 fatalities.
- Globally, there were about 69.76 million COVID-19 cases and 1.58 million deaths as of Friday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University research. The figures for the U.S. were around 15.62 million cases and 292,000 deaths.
