Wake County Health Department employees assist with nurses and volunteers from local hospitals and emergency services during a drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination event at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC, Thursday, February 11, 2021. Two months after the first COVID-Er 19 shots were administered, the race to vaccinate older Americans is gaining momentum, with more than half of states reporting that a third of people over 65 have received their first dose. (AP Photo / Gerry Broome)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for February 12, 2021.
PHOENIX – Health officials in Arizona reported 2,426 new cases of coronavirus and 172 additional deaths from COVID-19 on Friday.
The state’s documented totals have risen to 793,532 infections and 14,834 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 dashboard.
The virus remains widespread in the state, although the wave that made Arizona the country’s hot spot last month is waning, reflecting a trend seen across the country.
Hospital admissions in COVID-19 and mean daily cases are now lower than at the July peak of the state’s first wave, but the death rate remains higher.
The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients in Arizona fell to 2,396 Thursday, the lowest number since Nov. 27. The number of IC beds used by COVID-19 patients dropped to 705, the lowest since December 4.
Statewide, COVID-19 patients occupied 28% of all hospital beds and 39% of all IC beds on Thursday. Overall, the pre-hospital beds were 90% of the capacity and 87% of the intensive care beds.
Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic tests, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, has declined every week since it peaked at 24% for the week of December 27.
Of the 40,925 people tested so far this week, 9% got a positive result. The positivity rate was 12% for 109,361 people tested 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 average for the state health department’s newly reported coronavirus cases was 2,758.57 for Thursday, according to tracking by The Associated Press, the second lowest since Nov. 18.
The seven-day average of newly reported deaths hasn’t changed much since early February, and was 130 for Thursday.
In Thursday’s update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, Arizona was ranked fourth in the nation for COVID-19 deaths per capita in the past seven days and seventh in cases.
The Arizona Health Department updates current case, death, and testing data daily after the state receives and confirms statistics, which may take 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 severely disabling or fatal to 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 Friday’s latest developments regarding the coronavirus pandemic from around the state, country and world:
- The Navajo nation reported 66 new cases of coronavirus and 6 additional deaths, bringing the documented totals to 29,167 infections – including three delayed cases – and 1,103 deaths.
- The Phoenix Union High School District said the winter sports season, which had been postponed as a precaution during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been canceled.
- Democratic US Senator Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona does not think that a provision to increase the federal minimum wage to $ 15 belongs in the next COVID aid package.
- The Arizona Department of Health Services reported that 1,096,126 of the state’s 1,220,400 allocated COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered, an increase of more than 50,000 from the previous day.
- A professor at Arizona State University says smokers are at high risk for more serious effects from COVID-19 because of damage already done to the lungs from smoking.
- President Joe Biden said the US will have enough supplies of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the summer to inoculate 300 million Americans.
- According to research from Johns Hopkins University, there were approximately 107.9 million COVID-19 cases worldwide and 2.37 million deaths on Friday morning. The figures for the US were about 27.39 million cases and 475,000 deaths.