Arizona reports 896 new COVID-19 cases, 17 additional deaths Friday

PHOENIX – Arizona public health officials on Friday reported 896 new coronavirus cases, the third-most since mid-March, and 17 additional deaths from COVID-19.

The only larger daily case updates since March 12 were from April 9, with 1,302 (including 625 from recently confirmed old tests), and April 2, with 940.

The latest documented totals were 857,347 COVID-19 infections and 17,238 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services’ COVID-19 dashboard.

Arizona’s coronavirus-related hospitalizations have edged upward to their highest levels this month but remain just a small fraction of the pandemic peaks, according to the dashboard.

The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients in the state’s hospitals increased by nine overnight to 594 on Thursday, the most since March 31. The number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients increased by 12 to 187, the most since March 17.

The dashboard also showed that 4,706,849 vaccine doses have been administered in the state, with 2,811,591 people (39.1% of the state’s population) having received at least one shot and 2,061,845 people fully vaccinated.

The state health department’s daily updates present case and death 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 numbers posted each morning are reported electronically the previous evening by hospitals across the state.

COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 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.

All adults across Arizona are eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccines, with the minimum age at 16 for the Pfizer shot and 18 for other approved versions.

For details about statewide vaccine availability, the ADHS website has a vaccine-finder page showing locations and registration information.

For information about metro Phoenix vaccine availability, Maricopa County Public Health has a locator page that lists pharmacies, government-run sites, health clinics and pop-up distribution events.

The following week’s worth of appointments for mass vaccination sites run by the state, which use Pfizer, are released every Friday at 11 a.m. Appointments can be booked online at https://podvaccine.azdhs.gov/ or by calling 844-542-8201.

The appointments at state-run sites haven’t been quickly filling like they did during the early stages of the vaccine rollout, as supply has started to meet demand.

The site at the University of Arizona in Tucson has started taking walk-ins.

Also, spots can open at any time through any provider because of cancellations and additional deliveries, so vaccine seekers should continue checking any or all of the registration options regularly.

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