A COVID-19 patient, placed on a ventilator, is resting at St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, California. Thursday, January 7, 2021. The California health authorities reported a record number of 1042 deaths from the coronavirus in two days on Thursday. unprecedented caseloads. (AP Photo / Jae C. Hong)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information on the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for January 8, 2021.
PHOENIX – Health officials in Arizona reported 11,658 new cases of coronavirus and 197 additional deaths from COVID-19 on Friday.
It was the third largest daily death report, with the top three since Tuesday.
The state’s documented totals have risen to 596,251 COVID-19 infections and 9,938 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services dashboard.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona had the second highest rate of coronavirus cases since Thursday, behind New Jersey at No. 1 after several days, and the third highest per capita death rate nationally in the past seven days.
Arizona hospitals continued to see record numbers or near record numbers of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients.
The number of hospital patients at the COVID-19 hospital in Arizona fell to 4,907 on Thursday, 13 below the record set for the day before and the second highest on record.
The number of COVID-19 patients in the state’s IC beds rose to a record of 1,122, 21 more than the figure the day before.
Statewide, suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients occupied a record 57% of all hospital beds and a record 63% of all IC beds.
Overall, the inpatient and ICU beds were each 93% full, consistent with the pandemic peaks. Only 131 IC beds were unused.
Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic tests, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, is the highest it has ever been.
So far this week, 26% of the 70,526 people tested got a positive result. The percentage of positivity was a record 25% last week.
Official positivity rates are based on when the samples are taken, not when they are reported, so the rate for the past few weeks may fluctuate as labs are testing and the results are documented by the state.
The seven-day moving average for the health department’s newly reported coronavirus cases was 9,198 for Thursday, the highest ever and first-time above 9,000, according to tracking by The Associated Press.
The seven-day mean of newly reported COVID-19 deaths was 125.29 for Thursday, more than 20 higher than the previous day’s record.
The state updates current case, death, and test data daily after the state receives and confirms statistics, which can delay several days or more. They do not represent 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 severely 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.
Below are Friday’s latest developments regarding the coronavirus pandemic from around the state, country and world:
- According to research from Johns Hopkins University, there were approximately 88.2 million COVID-19 cases worldwide and 1.9 million deaths on Friday morning. The figures for the US were about 21.59 million cases and 365,000 deaths.