Arizona reports 2,938 new COVID-19 cases, 238 more deaths

Feb 2, 2021, 8:27 AM | Updated: 6:28 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 Feb. 2, 2021.

PHOENIX – Arizona health officials on Tuesday reported 2,938 new coronavirus cases and 238 additional deaths from COVID-19.

It was the first daily report with fewer than 3,000 new cases since Dec. 29, but the highest death report since Jan. 21.

The state’s documented totals moved to 765,083 infections and 13,362 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 dashboard.

While key metrics indicate that the massive Arizona wave that started in November is receding, the virus remains widespread across the state.

The number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients fell to 3,513 on Monday, the fewest since Dec. 10. The number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients decreased to 944, the fewest since Dec. 21.

Statewide, COVID-19 patients took up 40% of all inpatient beds and 52% of all ICU beds on Monday. Overall, inpatient beds were at 90% of capacity and ICU beds at 88%.

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

Of the 119,808 people tested last week, 16% received a positive result, the lowest rate since before Thanksgiving and the fourth consecutive weekly decline.

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.

As of Monday’s update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona continued to lead the nation in average cases per capita over the last seven days and dropped to No. 3 in deaths behind Alabama and Iowa.

The seven-day average for the state health department’s newly reported coronavirus cases was at 4,892.86 for Monday, according to tracking by The Associated Press, the lowest mark since Dec. 4. The seven-day average of newly reported deaths, which has been trending down for the last week, was at 126.43, the second-lowest since Jan. 7.

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 with a map of locations and information about registration.

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

The Navajo Nation reported 82 new coronavirus cases and 12 additional deaths to bring the documented totals to 28,471 infections and 1,032 fatalities.
Nearly 60% of Arizona’s COVID-19 vaccine supply has been administered, the state health department said, a big jump from a week earlier.
Globally, there were about 103.5 million COVID-19 cases and 2.24 million deaths as of Tuesday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University research. The figures for the U.S. were around 26.32 million cases and 443,000 deaths.

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