(AP Photo / Bernat Armangue)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information on the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond on February 6, 2021.
PHOENIX – Arizona health officials reported on Saturday 3,471 new cases of coronavirus and 63 additional deaths from COVID-19.
The state’s documented totals rose to 779,093 infections and 14,011 deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 panel.
The virus remains widespread throughout the state, although the surge that made Arizona the center of attack in the country last month is slowing.
In Friday’s update of the US Centers for Disease Control, Arizona fell to fifth place in the country on average cases per capita in the past seven days. Arizona ranked fourth in deaths, behind Indiana, Alabama and Iowa.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are now lower than at the July peak of the state’s first wave, but the cases and deaths are even greater.
The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients in Arizona dropped to 3,060 on Friday, the lowest since December 6. The number of ICU beds used by patients with COVID-19 has dropped to 849, the lowest since December 13.
Across the state, patients with COVID-19 occupied 35% of all hospital beds and 47% of all ICU beds on Wednesday. In general, hospital beds were at 90% of capacity and ICU beds at 88%.
Arizona’s weekly positivity percentage for the COVID-19 diagnostic test, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, has declined, but remains at a substantial level.
Of the 62,465 people tested so far this week, 13% have received a positive result. The positive rate recorded last week is 16% for 125,908 people tested, the lowest since before Thanksgiving and the fourth consecutive weekly drop.
Official positivity rates are based on when samples are taken, 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.
The seven-day average for new coronavirus cases notified by the state health department was 3,826 on Friday, according to tracking by The Associated Press, the lowest mark since November 30, but even higher than the July peak of the first wave.
The seven-day average of recently reported deaths dropped after rising for four consecutive days on Friday to 132.29.
Daily state updates show case, death, and test data 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 100 hospitals across the state, as required by the 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 without 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.
The department also has a vaccine location page with a location map and registration information.
Below are Saturday’s latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic across the state, country and world:
- Globally, there were about 105.49 million cases of COVID-19 and 2.3 million deaths on Saturday morning, according to research by Johns Hopkins University. The figures for the US were about 26.81 million cases and 459,617 deaths.