COVID-19 vaccines are ready for Phoenix health workers on December 17, 2020. (Facebook Photo / Banner Health)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and not just for December 21, 2020.
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials reported 7,748 new coronavirus cases and an additional death on Monday, while hospitalizations ticked again after a day of decline.
The state’s documented total has risen to 461,345 COVID-19 infections and 7,972 deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
More COVID-19 values in Arizona remain at or near pandemic highs, although Saturday was the first day in more than a week without a record number of hospitalizations.
The number of patients admitted to COVID-19 hospital confirmed or suspected was 3,925 on Sunday, up 26 from the previous day and the third highest ever.
The number of patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 from Arizona in ICU beds was 904, up 19 from the previous day and also the third highest.
At the national level, patients suspected or confirmed of COVID-19 took over 46% of all hospital beds and 51% of all ICU beds.
Overall, hospital beds were 92% filled, and ICU beds were also 92% filled.
Arizona’s weekly positivity test for the diagnosis of COVID-19, an indicator of how widespread the virus is in the community, also shows signs of leveling.
Through 137,303 tests for last week, the positivity rate was 18%, matching the rate of the last two weeks.
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 Arizona Department of Health’s daily reports show case, death, and test data after the state receives statistics and confirms them, which can stay 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 100 hospitals across the state, as required by the executive order.
The seven-day continuous average for the recently reported cases of the health department was 6,450.70 for Sunday, according to the follow-up made by The Associated Press, the lowest weekly average since December 13, but still among the largest pandemics.
The seven-day average of recent COVID-19 deaths has tripled this month and is just below the pandemic of 94 set on July 31. the fourth largest ever.
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.
Information about test locations can be found on the Arizona Department of Health Services website.
Below are Monday’s latest developments about the coronavirus pandemic across the country, country and world:
- Globally, there have been approximately 76.95 million COVID-19 cases and 1.7 million deaths since Monday morning, according to research from Johns Hopkins University. The figures for the US were about 17.85 million cases and 317,000 deaths.