(Photo University of Arizona)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and not just for February 18, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona officials reported 1,143 new coronavirus cases and 213 additional deaths from COVID-19 on Thursday.
It was the sixth day in a row, with less than 2,000 new cases, but the highest death rate since February 9.
The state’s documented total was 802,198 coronavirus infections and 15,276 deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health’s COVID-19 dashboard.
After rising to record highs in early January, the number of cases and hospitalizations dropped to pre-Thanksgiving levels in Arizona.
The number of hospitalized patients confirmed or suspected of COVID-19 in state hospitals fell to 1,823 on Wednesday, the lowest since November 18.
Arizona’s weekly positivity test for the diagnosis of COVID-19, an indicator of how widespread the virus is in the community, has evolved downward since the beginning of the year.
Of the 16,336 people tested so far this week, 10% received a positive result. The rate was 9%, the lowest in nearly four months, for 90,955 people tested last week.
Official positivity rates are based on the time of sampling, not the time they are reported, so the percentage in recent weeks may fluctuate as laboratories are tested and the results are documented by the state.
The seven-day average for the Department of Health’s recently reported coronavirus cases was 1,687.14 for Wednesday, according to a follow-up by The Associated Press, the smallest mark since Nov. 9.
The seven-day average of recently reported deaths has remained stubbornly high since early February, but two days of steep drops dropped to 85.86 on Wednesday. This is less than half of the pandemic record seen a month ago and the first time since January 4 was smaller than the July peak of Arizona’s first wave.
In Wednesday’s update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona remained third in the country for COVID-19 deaths per capita in the past seven days, but dropped to 19 in cases.
Daily updates from the Arizona Department of Health present case, death, and test data after the state receives and confirms statistics, which may remain for a few days or more. It is not the actual activity of the last 24 hours.
Hospitalization data posted each morning is reported electronically the previous evening by hospitals across the state, as required by the executive order.
COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has no impact on some and is severely debilitating or fatal to others. Asymptomatic infected people – which include, but are not limited to, cough, fever, and difficulty breathing – are able to spread the virus.
Diagnostic testing is available in hundreds of locations in Arizona and should be looked for by anyone with symptoms or who could have been exposed to an infected person. Information about locations, programs and registrations can be found on the website of the Department of Health Services.
For information on vaccine availability at the state level, the ADHS website has a vaccine search page with a map of locations and registration information.
Below are Thursday’s latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic across the country, country and world:
- The Navajo nation reported 43 new cases of coronavirus and 13 additional deaths, bringing the documented totals to 29,386 infections – including seven delayed cases – and 1,127 deaths.
- Some, but not all, of the delayed COVID-19 vaccine shipments from Arizona are on their way to the state, authorities said.
- US Senator Mark Kelly said KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News to file a request to the federal government for resources to test migrants at the border for COVID-19.
- According to Arizona’s COVID-19 dashboard, vaccine administration is on track to fully consume the state’s available supplies as early as Friday. But the numbers can be misleading.
- The Arizona Department of Health Services board says 1,339,829 of the 1,395,300 doses of state-allocated COVID-19 vaccine were administered, an increase of 48,776 from the previous day’s update. More than 1 million people have now received at least one blow in Arizona.
- The University of Arizona’s COVID-19 vaccination site is now officially a state-run operation. The initial round of 12,000 appointments was completed quickly earlier this week.
- Globally, there have been approximately 110.02 million COVID-19 cases and 2.43 million deaths since Thursday morning, according to research from Johns Hopkins University. The figures for the US were about 27.83 million cases and 490,000 deaths.