(AP Photo / Lee Jin-man)
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for December 26, 2020.
PHOENIX – Health officials in Arizona reported 6,106 new coronavirus cases and 15 additional deaths on Saturday.
The state’s documented totals rose to 493,041 COVID-19 infections and 8,424 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services dashboard.
Multiple COVID-19 statistics in Arizona were at or near pandemic highs.
The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospital patients in Arizona fell to 4,165 Friday after a record high of 4,226 on Thursday.
However, the number of COVID-19 patients in the state’s ICU beds rose to 983, a record third time in the past four days.
Statewide, suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients occupied 49% of all hospital beds, against a record 50% in the two previous days and 55% of all IC beds.
In total 89% of the hospital beds were filled and the IC beds were 91% filled. The state had 154 unused IC beds on Friday, 23 more than the previous day.
Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic tests, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, was 22% through 76,331 tests for this week. If it stays that way, the record of 21% will be broken from the week of June 28.
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 cases was 6,323 for Friday, according to tracking by The Associated Press, nearly 150 lower than Thursday.
The seven-day mean of newly reported COVID-19 deaths was 84.29 Friday, down for the third consecutive day, but still the ninth highest on record.
The daily update of current case, death and test data after the state receives and confirms statistics, which can delay several days or more. They do not reflect actual activity for the past 24 hours.
The hospital admission data posted each morning is reported electronically 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.
Information on testing sites can be found on the Arizona Department of Health Services website.