Arizona reports a record number of patients in intensive care units (ICUs) who have or are suspected of having coronavirus, announcing more than 10,000 new cases and another 42 deaths caused by the virus on Sunday.
Republic of Arizona reported Monday that 4,390 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were confirmed the day before, significantly higher than the peak of 3,517 observed in the summer. About 1,007 patients suspected or confirmed of COVID-19 were in intensive care, surpassing the previous record of 970 in July.
According to the Arizona coronavirus data scoreboard, 91% of ICU beds in the state are occupied by more than half of COVID-19 patients. There are currently fewer than 200 ICU beds and 1,000 non-ICU beds available, the Republic reports.
Along with record ICU patients, the number of Arizona coronavirus patients per ventilator also reached a record high on Sunday: 715.
The newspaper notes that the unusually high number of new cases reported, 10,086, is due to the fact that the state added cases worth several days simultaneously after the last holidays. The number of new cases exceeded 2,000 for 31 of the past 33 days, the Republic reports, and 27 of those days registered over 4,000 reported cases.
In the United States, Arizona ranks third in new seven-day case averages, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. data dashboard, surpassed only by California and Tennessee.
The impact of the last holidays has not yet been seen, but experts have warned that further growth could be imminent as thousands of families have gathered, despite warnings from government agencies against it.
The state began its coronavirus vaccination plan on December 14, the Republic reports. Priority was given to front-line care workers, early responders and those in vulnerable populations.
The order in which the vaccines are implemented has been left to the state governments to decide, and the governor of Arizona. Doug Ducey
Doug DuceyElectors voted for Biden amid national tensions, Chris Christie considers Trump’s legal team’s legal theory “absurdity” Twitter briefly limits users’ interaction with Trump’s tweets about “stolen” elections. MORE (R) has not yet announced who will be next, although the newspaper notes that it has assured residents that the vaccine will be free for everyone once it becomes widely available.