Arizona reports 1,918 new COVID-19 cases, 145 more deaths Friday

Feb 19, 2021, 8:28 AM | Updated: 6:15 pm

(University of Arizona Photo)

This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for Feb. 19, 2021.

PHOENIX – Arizona officials on Friday reported 1,918 new coronavirus cases and 145 additional deaths from COVID-19.

The state’s updated documented totals were 804,116 coronavirus infections and 15,421 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 dashboard.

After spiking to record highs in the first part of January, case and hospitalization numbers have fallen to pre-Thanksgiving levels in Arizona.

The new case report has remained below 2,000 for seven consecutive days, the longest such streak since early November.

The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients in the state’s hospitals decreased to 1,738 on Thursday, the fewest since Nov. 17. The number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients declined to 563, the fewest since Nov. 27.

Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, has been trending downward since the start of the year.

Of the 33,204 people tested so far this week, 10% received a positive result. The rate was 9% for 91,960 people tested last week, the lowest percent positivity since 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 seven-day average for the state health department’s newly reported coronavirus cases was 1,584.57 for Thursday, according to tracking by The Associated Press, the lowest mark since Nov. 6.

The seven-day average of newly reported deaths ticked up to 87.71, still less than half of the pandemic record seen a month ago.

In Thursday’s update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona was fourth in the nation for COVID-19 deaths per capita over the last seven days and 19th in cases. Arizona led the U.S. in both categories at times in January.

The Arizona health department’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 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.

For information about statewide vaccine availability, the ADHS website has a vaccine-finder page with a map of locations and information about registration.

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

The Navajo Nation reported 48 new coronavirus cases and 11 additional deaths, bringing the documented totals to 29,464 infections – including 30 delayed cases– and 1,138 fatalities.
Arizona’s top public health official doesn’t expect this week’s weather delays to have a significant impact on the state’s vaccination progress.
Honeywell has committed to a long-term lease on a more than 150,000-square-foot location in west Chandler, where it will produce N95 masks and other PPE for health care and government use.
Banner Health, Arizona’s largest hospital system, eased visitor restrictions as coronavirus metrics in the state continue to improve.
Arizona officials said the state is allocating $100 million of federal funding to county health departments to support COVID-19 testing and other mitigation efforts.
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported that 1,387,118 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the state, 47,289 more than a day earlier.
Maricopa County will soon close two of its COVID-19 vaccine sites, with officials saying the PODs were never meant to be the entire distribution strategy.
Globally, there were about 110.43 million COVID-19 cases and 2.44 million deaths as of Friday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University research. The figures for the U.S. were around 27.9 million cases and 493,000 deaths.