A healthcare professional prepares a Modern COVID-19 vaccine at a sports center in Ricany, Czech Republic, Friday, February 26, 2021. With new infections increasing due to a highly contagious coronavirus variant and crowded hospitals, one of the most European Union countries are facing the inevitable: a more rigid blockade. (AP Photo / Petr David Josek)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information on the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond, on March 13, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona public health officials reported on Saturday 262 new cases of coronavirus and 27 additional deaths from COVID-19.
The state’s documented totals have been updated to 832,094 coronavirus infections and 16,546 deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 panel.
The main state metrics used to measure the extent of the pandemic continue to improve and are the lowest in months, and more than 20% of the Arizona population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The number of confirmed or suspected inpatients with COVID-19 in state hospitals dropped to 814 on Friday, the lowest since October 31. The number of ICU beds used by patients with COVID-19 has dropped to 238, the lowest since November 2.
Arizona’s weekly positivity percentage for the COVID-19 diagnostic test, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, is at least five months away.
Of the 44,457 people tested so far this week, 5% have received a positive result. The rate for 77,971 people last week was 5%, the lowest since the beginning of October.
Official positivity rates are based on when samples are collected, not when they are reported, so the percentage of the past few weeks may fluctuate as laboratories update tests and results are documented by the state.
Daily updates from the Arizona Department of Health present data on cases, deaths and tests after the state receives the statistics and confirms them, which can take several days or more. They do not represent actual activity in the past 24 hours.
Hospitalization data published every morning is reported electronically the night before by hospitals across the state, as required by executive order.
COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, has no impact on some people and is severely debilitating or fatal for others. Infected people with no symptoms – which include, but are not limited to cough, fever and difficulty breathing – are able to spread the virus.
The diagnostic test is available in hundreds of locations across Arizona and should be sought out by anyone with symptoms or who may have been exposed to an infected person. Information on locations, times and registration can be found on the Department of Health Services website.
For details on the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine across the state, the ADHS website has a vaccine location page with a location map and registration and eligibility information.
Below are Saturday’s latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic across the state, country and world:
- The Navajo Nation reported 15 new cases of coronavirus and three additional deaths, bringing the documented totals to 29,945 infections and 1,218 deaths.
- Globally, there were about 119.2 million cases of COVID-19 and 2.64 million deaths on Saturday morning, according to research by Johns Hopkins University. The figures for the US are around 29.34 million cases and 532,500 deaths.