Arizona reports 1,759 new COVID-19 cases, 15 additional deaths Thursday

PHOENIX – Arizona health officials on Thursday reported 1,759 new COVID-19 cases, the second-most in a day in more than four months, and 15 additional deaths from the disease.

Meanwhile, Arizona’s hospitals saw the number COVID-19 inpatients surpass 1,000 for the first time since early March.

The latest documented totals were 923,204 infections and 18,200 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 dashboard.

Other than a July 14 update of 1,945, Thursday’s new case number was the biggest since 1,835 on March 11.

Hospitalizations related to COVID-19 have been on the rise this month, with unvaccinated people accounting for almost all of the serious illnesses and deaths, according to health officials.

The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients in the state’s hospitals increased by 46 overnight to 1,019 on Wednesday, the most since March 4.

The number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients went up by three to 335, the most since March 3 and an increase of nearly 150% since July 1.

The percent positivity for diagnostic testing conducted last week was 13% as of Thursday’s update, the highest since late January. It was 15% so far for this week’s testing.

The dashboard also showed that 3,733,628 people (51.9% of the state’s population, based on 7,189,020 residents) have received at least one dose of vaccine in Arizona and 3,336,595 people are fully vaccinated (46.4% of the population). Arizona trails the nationwide rates of 57.1% with at least one dose and 49.3% fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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.

Free federally authorized vaccines are widely available and highly effective in preventing illness from COVID-19, including the more contagious delta variant that now accounts for most of the new cases in the U.S.

For details about statewide vaccine availability, the ADHS website has a vaccine-finder page with locations and other 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.

Appointments may be required depending on the provider, but many accept walk-ins.

The minimum age to receive the Pfizer shot has been reduced to 12, but it’s still 18 for the other approved versions, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

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.

Information about where to get tested for COVID-19 can be found on the ADHS website.

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