Arizona reports 649 new COVID-19 cases, 7 more deaths Sunday
Mar 14, 2021, 8:28 AM | Updated: 7:09 pm
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for March 14, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona public health officials on Sunday reported 649 new coronavirus cases and seven additional deaths from COVID-19.
The state’s documented totals were updated to 832,743 coronavirus infections and 16,553 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 765 on Saturday, the fewest since Oct. 18. The number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients dipped to 215, the fewest since Oct. 30.
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 54,465 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 Sunday’s latest developments about the coronavirus pandemic from around the state, country and world:
- The Navajo Nation reported three new coronavirus cases and no deaths, bringing the documented totals to 29,948 infections and 1,218 fatalities.
- Globally, there were about 119.6 million COVID-19 cases and 2.65 million deaths as of Sunday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University research. The figures for the U.S. were around 29.4 million cases and 534,300 deaths.
