Arizona reports 3,741 new COVID-19 cases, 4 deaths

Arizona reported more than 3,700 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, as hospitalizations have been gradually declining while the state remains highest-ranked nationwide for its case rate over the past week.

Arizona’s seven-day, new-case average ranked first Sunday among all states, after ranking first and second for much of January, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker.

The state’s rate of new positive cases over the last seven days was 74.6 cases per 100,000 people, per the CDC, trailed by South Carolina with 72.1 cases per 100,000. The U.S. average for new cases was 45 cases per 100,000 people.

The state’s average daily COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 people over the past seven days ranked second in the nation as of Sunday, per the CDC.

Arizona’s newly reported four deaths brought the known COVID-19 death count to 13,124. Few new deaths are typically reported on Mondays. The state surpassed 13,000 deaths on Friday, just one week after it passed 12,000 and two weeks after 11,000 deaths. The state exceeded 10,000 known deaths on Jan. 9. Arizona’s first known death from the disease occurred in mid-March.

In about one year since the first case was announced in Arizona, a total of 762,145 COVID-19 cases have been identified across the state.

The Arizona data dashboard shows 91% of all ICU beds and 90% of all inpatient beds in the state were in use Saturday, with 54% of ICU beds and 42% of non-ICU beds occupied by COVID-19 patients. Statewide, 165 ICU beds and 843 non-ICU beds were available.

Hospitalizations for the disease have been dropping gradually for about three weeks, but remain at very high levels.

The number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was at 3,654 on Sunday, below the record 5,082 inpatients on Jan. 11.

The number of patients with suspected or known COVID-19 in ICUs across Arizona was at 984 on Sunday, below the record high of 1,183 on Jan. 11.

Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators tallied 662 on Sunday, below the record-high 821 reached on Jan. 13.

Sunday saw 1,481 patients in the emergency room for COVID-19, below the Dec. 29 single-day record of 2,341 positive or suspected COVID-19 patients seen in emergency departments across the state.

New cases in Arizona have eclipsed 5,000 for 26 of the past 30 days.

More numbers of note

Reported cases in Arizona: 762,145 Cases since the outbreak began increased by 3,741, or 0.49%, from Sunday’s 758,404 identified cases. These daily cases are grouped by the date they are reported to the Arizona Department of Health Services, not by the date the tests were administered.

Cases by county: 475,261 in Maricopa, 101,961 in Pima, 42,456 in Pinal, 35,184 in Yuma, 19,641 in Mohave, 16,325 in Yavapai, 15,274 in Coconino, 14,565 in Navajo, 10,469 in Cochise, 9,638 in Apache, 7,439 in Santa Cruz, 6,031 in Gila, 5,126 in Graham, 2,250 in La Paz and 525 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.

The rate of cases per 100,000 people is highest in Yuma County, followed by Santa Cruz, Apache, Graham and Navajo counties.

The rate in Yuma County is 15,300 cases per 100,000 people. By comparison, the U.S. average rate as of Sunday was 7,808 cases per 100,000 people, according to the CDC.

The Navajo Nation reported 28,325 cases and 1,018 confirmed deaths in total as of Sunday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

Tribal leaders halted weekend lockdowns after Jan. 25, although a stay-athome order and nightly curfew remained in effect.

Reported deaths in Arizona: 13,124 Deaths by county: 7,462 in Maricopa, 1,740 in Pima, 697 in Yuma, 612 in Pinal, 521 in Mohave, 429 in Navajo, 381 in Yavapai, 311 in Apache, 276 in Coconino, 227 in Cochise, 188 in Gila, 149 in Santa Cruz, 65 in Graham, 60 in La Paz and six in Greenlee.