Arizona reports 1,367 new COVID-19 cases, 55 more deaths Friday
Mar 12, 2021, 8:26 AM | Updated: 5:42 pm
A dose of the new one-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine is prepared at a vaccination event at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in South Los Angeles on March 11, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. The event was hosted by California health officials and FEMA. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is now the third coronavirus vaccine to receive emergency approval for use in the United States. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for March 12, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona public health officials on Friday reported 1,367 new coronavirus cases and 55 additional deaths from COVID-19.
The state’s documented totals were updated to 831,832 coronavirus infections and 16,519 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 dashboard.
Key state metrics used to gauge the extent of the pandemic continue to improve and are the lowest they’ve been in months, and more than 20% of Arizona’s population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
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The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients in the state’s hospitals decreased to 879 on Thursday, the fewest since Oct. 31. The number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients dipped to 236, the fewest since Nov. 2.
Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, is at a five-month low.
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Of the 33,923 people tested so far this week, 5% received a positive result. The rate for 77,971 people last week was 5%, the lowest since early 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 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 details about statewide COVID-19 vaccine availability, the ADHS website has a vaccine-finder page with a map of locations and information about registration and eligibility.
Below are Friday’s latest developments about the coronavirus pandemic from around the state, country and world:
- Arizona health officials reported Friday that the P1 COVID-19 variant, commonly referred to as the Brazilian variant, has been confirmed in three test samples from the state.
- The Navajo Nation reported 19 new coronavirus cases and three additional deaths, bringing the documented totals to 29,930 infections and 1,215 fatalities.
- Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show that the state can meet President Joe Biden’s goal of extending COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to all adults by May 1 if the supply is sufficient.
- Thousands of front-line transit workers who serve metro Phoenix will be able to receive a COVID-19 vaccine shot at a private event this weekend.
- Globally, there were about 118.7 million COVID-19 cases and 2.63 million deaths as of Friday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University research. The figures for the U.S. were around 29.29 million cases and 531,000 deaths.
