Arizona reports 262 new COVID-19 cases, 27 more deaths Saturday
Mar 13, 2021, 8:29 AM | Updated: 5:58 pm
A healthcare worker prepares a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a sports hall in Ricany, Czech Republic, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. With new infections soaring due to a highly contagious coronavirus variant and hospitals filling up, one of the hardest-hit countries in the European Union is facing inevitable: a tighter lockdown. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
(AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for March 13, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona public health officials on Saturday reported 262 new coronavirus cases and 27 additional deaths from COVID-19.
The state’s documented totals were updated to 832,094 coronavirus infections and 16,546 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 814 on Friday, the fewest since Oct. 31. The number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients dipped to 238, 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.
Of the 44,457 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 Saturday’s latest developments about the coronavirus pandemic from around the state, country and world:
- The Navajo Nation reported 15 new coronavirus cases and three additional deaths, bringing the documented totals to 29,945 infections and 1,218 fatalities.
- Globally, there were about 119.2 million COVID-19 cases and 2.64 million deaths as of Saturday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University research. The figures for the U.S. were around 29.34 million cases and 532,500 deaths.
