Arizona surpasses 500,000 coronavirus cases, adds 42 deaths
Dec 28, 2020, 8:24 AM | Updated: 5:40 pm
A medical staff member Tanna Ingraham reacts as her patient succeed to eat food by herself for the first time after intubation tubes were removed in the COVID-19 intensive care unit (ICU) on Christmas Day at the United Memorial Medical Center on December 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Go Nakamura/Getty Images)
(Photo by Go Nakamura/Getty Images)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for Dec. 28, 2020.
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials reported 10,086 new coronavirus cases and 42 additional deaths on Monday, as the number of cases in the state reached half a million.
The state’s documented totals increased to 504,423 COVID-19 infections and 8,469 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services dashboard.
The new case report, which was the third highest for a single day, included additions from several days over the holiday weekend, the department said.
With the holiday weekend, multiple days of #COVID19 case review were completed yesterday, resulting in higher numbers than usual added to the ADHS dashboard today. For 12/28, 10,086 cases and 42 deaths will be shown. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/8Hz2kyTViA
— AZ Dept of Health (@AZDHS) December 28, 2020
Multiple COVID-19 metrics in Arizona have been at or near pandemic highs.
RELATED STORIES
The number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospital inpatients climbed to a record 4,390 on Sunday, a jump of 200 in 24 hours.
The number of COVID-19 patients in the state’s ICU beds increased to an all-time high of 1,007 on Sunday, reaching quadruple digits for the first time.
Statewide, suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients took up a record 52% of all inpatient beds and a record-tying 57% of all ICU beds.
Overall, inpatient beds were 90% filled and ICU beds were 91% full.
Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, was 23% through 94,911 tests for last week. If that holds up, it will break the record of 21% from the week starting June 28.
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 was 5,820 for Sunday, according to tracking by The Associated Press, the lowest since Dec. 7.
The seven-day average of newly reported COVID-19 deaths was 65.14, the lowest since Dec. 16.
The state’s daily updates 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 Monday’s latest developments about the coronavirus pandemic from around the state, country and world:
- The Navajo Nation reported 95 new coronavirus cases and no recent deaths, bringing the documented totals to 22,371 infections and 777 fatalities.
- The House voted overwhelmingly Monday to increase COVID-19 relief checks to $2,000, meeting President Donald Trump’s demand for bigger payments and sending the bill to the GOP-controlled Senate, where the outcome is uncertain.
- Globally, there were about 80.88 million COVID-19 cases and 1.76 million deaths as of Monday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University research. The figures for the U.S. were around 19.13 million cases and 333,000 deaths.
