Arizona reports 4,671 new COVID-19 cases, 176 more deaths

Jan 28, 2021, 8:25 AM | Updated: 6:24 pm

This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for Jan. 28, 2021.

PHOENIX – Arizona health officials on Thursday reported 4,671 new coronavirus cases, the smallest daily increase of 2021, and 176 additional deaths from COVID-19.

The state’s documented totals moved to 743,232 infections and 12,819 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 dashboard.

As of Wednesday’s update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona continued to lead the nation in average deaths per capita over the last seven days and moved back to No. 1 in cases after dropping behind Rhode Island for one day.

Key metrics indicate that the massive surge in Arizona that started in November is past its peak, but the virus remains widespread across the state.

Thursday’s new case report was the lowest since it was 2,799 on Dec. 29.

The number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients fell to 4,087 on Wednesday, the fewest since Dec. 21. The number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients dropped to 1,023, the fewest since Dec. 27.

Statewide, COVID-19 patients took up 47% of all inpatient beds and 57% of all ICU beds on Wednesday. Overall, inpatient beds and ICU beds were at 91% of capacity each.

Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, has leveled off but remains at a substantial level.

Of the 154,865 people tested last week, 19% received a positive result, the lowest rate since the week starting Dec. 13. For 31,118 people tested so far this week, the positive rate is 18%.

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 seven-day average for the state health department’s newly reported coronavirus cases was at 6,859.57 for Wednesday, according to tracking by The Associated Press, the second-lowest mark since Jan. 2. The seven-day average of newly reported COVID-19 deaths declined to 159.29.

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.

The department also has a vaccine-finder page with a map of active and pending locations and information about registration.

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

The Arizona Department of Health Services said more than 544,000 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered statewide, with about 85,000 people having received both doses.
The Navajo Nation reached 1,000 fatalities after reporting 11 additional deaths on Thursday. 59 new cases were also reported to bring the documented total to 27,987 infections, including 41 delayed reported cases.
As COVID-19 cases surged, Arizonans grew more concerned about the pandemic and increased their willingness to get vaccinated, according to a new public opinion poll.
If current trends hold, Arizona could surpass 18,500 coronavirus deaths in May, and it could be more than that, according to the latest forecasts.
Arizona’s restaurant industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, but the president of the Arizona Restaurant Association is hopeful things are turning around.
The Arizona Department of Health Services is responding to complaints by making its online COVID-19 vaccination registration system more user friendly.
Globally, there were about 100.99 million COVID-19 cases and 2.18 million deaths as of Thursday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University research. The figures for the U.S. were around 25.6 million cases and 429,000 deaths.