Arizona patients hospitalized for COVID-19 increased by nearly 100 from the day before, reaching its highest level in a month, as the state reported 864 new COVID-19 cases and six new known deaths Tuesday. 

Identified cases rose to 221,934 and known deaths are at 5,713, according to the daily report from the Arizona Department of Health Services. 

The number of patients hospitalized statewide for known or suspected COVID-19 was at 665 on Monday, a jump up from 567 inpatients on Sunday and the most inpatients since Sept. 5. Inpatient numbers look to be plateauing and possibly increasing, but more time is needed to point to a trend. During the peak of Arizona’s surge in July, the number of hospitalized patients suspected or confirmed to have the virus exceeded 3,000.

The number of patients with suspected or known COVID-19 in intensive care units across Arizona was at 138 on Monday, the most since Sept. 14. The number has hovered between 114 and 138 since Sept. 14. The level is far below what it was in July, when ICU beds in use for COVID-19 reached 970.

The number of Arizonans with confirmed and suspected COVID-19 on ventilators was at 65, up slightly from previous days. The metric has hovered around that level for about two weeks, ranging between 47 and 65 ventilators in use. In mid-July, as many as 687 patients across the state with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 were on ventilators. 

ADHS has begun including probable cases as anyone with a positive antigen test, another type of test to determine current infection. Antigen tests (not related to antibody tests) are a newer type of COVID-19 diagnostic test that use a nasal swab or other fluid sample to test for current infection. Results are typically produced within 15 minutes. 

A positive antigen test result is considered very accurate, but there’s an increased chance of false-negative results, the Mayo Clinic says. Depending on the situation, Mayo Clinic officials say a doctor may recommend a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test to confirm a negative antigen test result. 

Tuesday’s dashboard shows 81% of inpatient beds and 79% of ICU beds in use, which includes people being treated for COVID-19 and other patients. COVID-19 patients were using 8% of all inpatient beds and 8% of ICU beds. Overall, 22% of ventilators were in use.

The number of weekly tests conducted dropped significantly in July and into August, after which it has remained flatter with some fluctuation.

Of known test results from the past five weeks, 4% have come back positive, according to the state, which has a unique way of calculating percent positivity.

Johns Hopkins University calculates Arizona’s seven-day moving average of percent positives at 6.6% and shows it has reached a relative plateau.

A positivity rate of 5% is considered a good benchmark that the spread of the disease is under control.

Here’s what you need to know about Tuesday’s new numbers:

Reported cases in Arizona: 221,934

Cases increased by 864, or 0.39%, from Monday’s 221,070 identified cases since the outbreak began.

Cases by county: 143,917 in Maricopa, 26,052 in Pima, 12,877 in Yuma, 10,810 in Pinal, 5,828 in Navajo, 4,331 in Coconino, 4,068 in Mohave, 3,622 in Apache, 2,895 in Santa Cruz, 2,636 in Yavapai, 1,928 in Cochise, 1,463 in Gila, 898 in Graham, 549 in La Paz and 60 in Greenlee, according to state numbers.

The rate of cases per 100,000 people is highest in Yuma County, followed by Santa Cruz, Navajo and Apache counties. The rate in Yuma County is 5,600 cases per 100,000 people. By comparison, the U.S. average rate is 2,235 cases per 100,000 people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Navajo Nation reported 10,454 cases and 559 confirmed deaths as of Monday. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

The Arizona Department of Corrections said 2,599 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Monday, including 985 in Tucson; 40,275 inmates statewide have been tested; and two total test results are pending in the state prison system. A total of 709 prison staff members have self-reported testing positive, the state corrections department said. Seventeen incarcerated people in Arizona have been confirmed to have died of COVID-19, with 11 additional deaths under investigation. 

While race/ethnicity is unknown for 31% of cases statewide, 31% of cases are Hispanic or Latino, 25% are white, 6% are Native American, 3% are Black and 1% are Asian/Pacific Islander.

Laboratories have completed 1,511,427 diagnostic tests for COVID-19, 10.9% of which have come back positive. That number now includes both PCR and antigen testing. The percentage of positive tests had increased since mid-May but began decreasing in July and for the past five weeks has been at 4%. The state numbers leave out data from labs that do not report electronically.

Arizona as of Monday had one of the highest overall rates of COVID-19 infection in the country — sixth behind Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama and North Dakota. Arizona’s infection rate is 3,078 cases per 100,000 people, the CDC says. The national average is 2,235 cases per 100,000 people, though the rates in states hard-hit early on in the pandemic may be an undercount due to a lack of available testing in March and April.

Reported deaths: 5,713 known deaths

On Tuesday, six new known deaths were reported.

County deaths: 3,431 in Maricopa, 628 in Pima, 347 in Yuma, 236 in Navajo, 228 in Mohave, 211 in Pinal, 165 in Apache, 144 in Coconino, 84 in Yavapai, 73 in Cochise, 64 in Santa Cruz, 60 in Gila, 25 in Graham, 15 in La Paz and fewer than three in Greenlee.

People aged 65 and older made up 4,061 of the 5,713 deaths, or 71%.

While race/ethnicity is unknown for 11% of deaths, 42% of those who died were white, 30% were Hispanic or Latino, 11% were Native American, 3% were Black and 1% were Asian/Pacific Islander, the state data show.

The global death toll on Tuesday was 1,045,390 and the U.S. has the highest death count of any country in the world, at 210,237. Arizona’s death total of 5,713 deaths represents 2.7% of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. as of Tuesday.

The COVID-19 death rate in Arizona was 79 per 100,000 people as of Monday, according to the CDC, putting it 10th in the country in a state ranking that separates New York City and New York state. The U.S. average is 63 deaths per 100,000 people, the CDC says.

Behind New York City, at 284 deaths per 100,000 people, the CDC placed the highest death rates ahead of Arizona as New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Mississippi, the District of Columbia and New York state.

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or at 602-444-4282. Follow her on Twitter @alisteinbach.

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