A health worker prepares a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at a sports hall in Ricany, Czech Republic, Friday, February 26, 2021. With new infections from a highly contagious variant of the coronavirus and hospitals filling up, one of the hardest hit countries in the European Union inevitably stands for a tighter lockdown. (AP Photo / Petr David Josek)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for March 13, 2021.
PHOENIX – Public health officials in Arizona reported 262 new cases of coronavirus and 27 additional deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday.
The state’s documented totals were updated to 832,094 coronavirus infections and 16,546 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services COVID-19 dashboard.
Key statistic data used to measure the extent of the pandemic continues to improve and is the lowest in months, with more than 20% of the Arizona population having received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients in state hospitals fell to 814 on Friday, the lowest since Oct. 31. The number of IC beds used by COVID-19 patients fell to 238, the lowest since November 2.
Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic tests, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, is at a five-month low.
Of the 44,457 people tested so far this week, 5% got a positive result. The rate for 77,971 people last week was 5%, the lowest since early 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 the results are documented by the state.
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 represent actual activity for the past 24 hours.
The hospital admission data posted each morning is reported electronically by hospitals across the state the night before, 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 – are able to spread the virus.
Diagnostic tests are available in hundreds of locations around 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 details on statewide availability of COVID-19 vaccines, the ADHS website has a vaccine locator page with a map of locations and registration and eligibility information.
Below are Saturday’s latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic from 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 fatalities.
- According to research from Johns Hopkins University, there were approximately 119.2 million COVID-19 cases and 2.64 million deaths on Saturday morning worldwide. The figures for the US were about 29.34 million cases and 532,500 deaths.