Arizona reports 8,995 new COVID-19 cases, 6 more deaths
Jan 11, 2021, 8:26 AM | Updated: 5:18 pm
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for Jan 11, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials on Monday reported 8,995 new coronavirus cases and six additional deaths from COVID-19.
The state’s documented totals moved to 627,541 COVID-19 infections and 10,147 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services dashboard.
As of Sunday, Arizona had the highest coronavirus rates per capita nationally for cases and deaths over the last seven days, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
Arizona’s hospitals continue to see record numbers of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients.
The number of Arizona’s COVID-19 hospital inpatients climbed to a record 4,997 on Sunday. The number of COVID-19 patients in the state’s ICU beds rose to a record 1,158.
Statewide, suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients took up a record-tying 58% of all inpatient beds and a record-breaking 65% of all ICU beds.
Overall, inpatient beds and ICU beds were each 92% full, slightly below the pandemic highs.
Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, has been surging.
Of the 165,946 people who were tested last week, 23% received a positive result, down 1 percentage point from the previous week’s record level.
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 coronavirus cases was 8,880.20 for Sunday, according to tracking by The Associated Press, falling from the previous day’s record of more than 9,700.
The seven-day average of newly reported COVID-19 deaths set a record for the fifth consecutive day Sunday at 154.29.
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.
Diagnostic testing is available at hundreds of locations across Arizona and should be sought out by anybody with symptoms or who may have been exposed to an infected person. Information about locations, schedules and registration can be found on the 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 154 new coronavirus cases and no recent deaths on Monday, bringing the documented totals to 25,383 infections and 871 fatalities.
- Gov. Doug Ducey reaffirmed his commitment to his plan for getting Arizona through the coronavirus pandemic and touted his hope for the vaccine returning life to normal in his annual State of the State address.
- The flood of people attempting to sign up for COVID-19 vaccinations in the Phoenix area overwhelmed the system shortly after phase 1B registration opened.
- Globally, there were about 90.38 million COVID-19 cases and 1.94 million deaths as of Monday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University research. The figures for the U.S. were around 22.41 million cases and 374,000 deaths.