9,707 confirmed cases; 426 deaths

Arizona cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, now exceed 9,700, with 426 known deaths, according to numbers released on Wednesday by the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Arizona’s total identified cases rose to 9,707, according to the most recent state figures. That’s an increase of 402 confirmed cases, or 4.3%, since Tuesday when the state reported 9,305 identified cases and 395 deaths.

Monday to Tuesday’s increase in 33 deaths was the largest single-day increase in COVID-19-related deaths reported in Arizona since the pandemic began. Tuesday to Wednesday’s increase in 31 deaths was the second largest daily increase reported by the state.

While 64 new deaths were reported over the past two days, a marked increase from days prior, many of those deaths may not have actually occurred this week. The number of new deaths reported each day represents the additional known deaths identified by the health department that day, but they are often not identified on the actual death date, and could have occurred weeks prior. According to the department’s data, the date with the most deaths in a single day so far is April 19, with 20 deaths.

Maricopa County’s confirmed cases exceed 5,000, at 5,138, according to state numbers. All of Arizona’s 15 counties have reported at least two cases.

The state planned to provide numbers of recovered cases for the first time Monday. As of Wednesday morning, that data was not yet available.

The number of Arizona cases likely is higher than official numbers suggest because of limits on supplies and available tests, which led to the state initially issuing guidelines that restrict who should be tested.

However, the state announced April 23 that anyone who thinks they could be infected can now get tested. The governor’s office and health department announced a “testing blitz“with the goal of testing 10,000 to 20,000 individuals each Saturday for three weekends. May 2 was the first day of the blitz.

State data shows about 8.3 percent of diagnostic tests completed come back positive.

The latest Arizona data

As of Wednesday morning, the state reported death totals from these counties: 186 in Maricopa, 116 in Pima, 48 in Coconino, 31 in Navajo, 17 in Mohave, 15 in Pinal and seven in Apache and three in Yavapai.

La Paz County reported two deaths and Yuma County reported one death as of Tuesday. Information on deaths in those counties differed on the state site Wednesday, showing fewer than three deaths for each of the two counties.

Gila, Greenlee, Graham, Cochise and Santa Cruz counties each reported no deaths as of Wednesday, according to state data.

People 65 and older made up 331 of the 426 total deaths. While race/ethnicity is unknown for 14% of deaths, 46% of deaths were white, 19% were Native American and 15% were Hispanic or Latino.

Overall, Arizona has 135 cases and 5.93 deaths per 100,000 residents, according to state data. The situation differs by county, with Maricopa having 117.6 cases and 4.26 deaths per 100,000 residents and Coconino having 399.3 cases and 32.59 deaths per 100,000 residents, for example. Navajo County has 790.6 cases and 27.48 deaths per 100,000 residents.

Of the 9,707 cases, 33% have chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, cardiac disease, hypertension, chronic pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease or chronic liver disease. In addition, 44% of all cases are considered “highrisk,” meaning the individual is either over 65 or has a chronic condition.

Of all confirmed cases, 6% are younger than 20, 38% are aged 20 to 44, 17% are aged 45 to 54, 16% are aged 55 to 64 and 23% are over 65. This aligns with the proportions of testing done for each age range.

The state health department website said both state and private laboratories have completed a total of 91,737 diagnostic tests for COVID-19, according to the number posted Wednesday on the agency website. 11,860 serology, or antibody, tests have been completed.

Most COVID-19 diagnostic tests come back negative, the state’s dashboard shows, with 8.3% of tests coming back positive. For serology tests, 3.6% come back positive.

Cases rise in other counties

According to Wednesday’s state update, Pima County reported 1,425 identified cases. Navajo County reported 892 cases, while Apache County reported 612. Coconino County reported 588, Pinal County reported 497, Mohave County reported 150, Yavapai County reported 140 and Yuma County reported 134

Cochise County reported 40 cases, Santa Cruz County reported 37, Graham County reported 19, La Paz County reported 18 (county officials previously reported 23), Gila County reported 15 and Greenlee County reported two, according to state numbers.

All counties but Graham and Greenlee saw an increase in case numbers from Tuesday.

The Navajo Nation had 2,559 identified cases and 79 confirmed deaths as of Tuesday evening. Of the 2,559 cases, 1,474 are in counties in Arizona. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.