A nurse prepares a syringe containing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine during a nationwide vaccination campaign at Saint George Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021. (AP Photo / Hussein Malla)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for Feb. 16, 2021.
PHOENIX – Health officials in Arizona reported 1,132 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, the fewest in a day since November, and three additional deaths from COVID-19.
The state’s documented totals have risen to 799,740 infections and 14,981 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 dashboard.
COVID-19 hospitalizations and daily mean cases have been steadily declining over the past month, but the death rate remains higher than during the Arizona summer wave.
The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients in Arizona dropped to 2,047 Monday, the lowest number since Nov. 22. The number of IC beds used by COVID-19 patients fell to 601, the lowest number since November 30.
Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic tests, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, has been declining every week since early 2021.
Of the 88,218 people tested last week, 9% got a positive result, the lowest percentage since the end of October.
Official positivity rates are based on when the samples are taken, not when they are reported, so the rate from the past few weeks may fluctuate as labs are testing and results are documented by the state.
The seven-day average for the state health service’s newly reported coronavirus cases was 2,245.86 for Monday, according to tracking by The Associated Press, the second lowest since Nov. 14.
The seven-day mean of newly reported deaths has remained stubbornly high since the beginning of February and was 131.96 for Monday.
In Monday’s update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona was ranked third in the country for COVID-19 deaths per capita in the past seven days and 13th in cases.
The Arizona Health Department updates current case, death, and testing data daily after the state receives and confirms statistics, which may lag several days or more. They do not reflect actual activity for the past 24 hours.
The hospital admission data posted each morning is electronically reported the night before by 100 hospitals across the state as required under executive order.
COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, does not affect some people and is seriously disabling or fatal for others. Infected people without symptoms – including but not limited to a cough, fever, and difficulty breathing – can spread the virus.
Diagnostic tests are available at hundreds of locations in Arizona and should be sought by anyone with symptoms or who may have been exposed to an infected person. Information on locations, schedules, and registration can be found on the Department of Health Services website.
For more information on vaccine availability statewide, the ADHS website has a vaccine finder page with a map of locations and registration information.
Below are Tuesday’s latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic from across the state, country and world:
- Winter weather affecting much of the country has delayed shipments of COVID-19 vaccines to Arizona this week and has resulted in some appointments being canceled.
- The Navajo Nation reported 24 new cases of coronavirus and no additional deaths, bringing the documented totals to 29,308 infections – including one delayed case – and 1,112 deaths.
- The Pima County Health Department has announced that pre-registration for COVID-19 vaccination appointments will be expanded at County-supported locations to those over 65 from 9:00 a.m. on Thursday.
- All nearly 12,000 new appointments for the state-run COVID-19 vaccination site at the University of Arizona were handled in about 2.5 hours.
- The Arizona Department of Health Services reported that 1,227,271 of the state’s 1,395,300 allocated COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered, an increase of 10,145 from the previous day.
- According to research from Johns Hopkins University, there were approximately 109.25 million COVID-19 cases worldwide and 2.41 million deaths on Tuesday morning. The figures for the US were about 27.7 million cases and 486,000 deaths.