Arizona reports 1,054 new coronavirus cases, 56 additional deaths
Aug 8, 2020, 8:34 AM | Updated: 8:38 pm
This is a regularly updated story with the latest information, news and updates about the coronavirus and its impact in Arizona and beyond for Saturday, Aug. 8.
PHOENIX – Arizona health authorities reported 1,054 new coronavirus cases and 56 additional deaths on Saturday morning.
That brought the state’s documented totals to 186,107 COVID-19 infections and 4,137 fatalities, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
The rolling seven-day average for newly reported cases was 1,577.7 on Friday, the lowest since June 18, according to tracking by The Associated Press.
The spread of coronavirus in Arizona has been slowing in the weeks after the implementation of face mask requirements by local governments in many areas — including all of Maricopa County — and statewide executive orders to close businesses such as bars and gyms and to restrict restaurant occupancy.
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Those moves were made after the state became a global hot spot for the coronavirus, which has no impact on some people and is seriously debilitating or fatal for others. Infected people without symptoms – which include but are not limited to cough, fever and difficulty breathing — are capable of spreading the virus.
Arizona’s weekly positive rate for diagnostic PCR tests, which indicates how much the virus is spreading, is on pace to fall for the fifth consecutive week. It was 14.1% for the 30,178 tests given and processed since Sunday that have been reported by the state.
Weekly rates are based on when the samples are taken, not when they are reported, so the percentage for recent weeks can fluctuate as labs get caught up on testing backlogs.
The weekly positive rate was 5% in early May and started climbing after Gov. Doug Ducey let Arizona’s stay-at-home order expire. It peaked at 21% the week starting June 28.
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The Arizona health department’s daily reports present case, death and testing data after the state receives statistics and confirms them, which can lag by several days or more. They don’t represent the actual activity over the past 24 hours.
The hospital data posted each morning, however, is reported the previous evening by the hospitals.
Coronavirus-related hospitalizations declined again Friday, continuing a weekslong trend.
The number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients fell to 1,659, the fewest since June 17.
The number of COVID-19 patients in ICU beds fell to 539, the fewest since June 20.
COVID-19 inpatients peaked at 3,517 on July 13, and COVID-19 patients in ICU beds topped out at 970 the same day.
Overall, Arizona inpatient and ICU bed usage rates remained several percentage points below the high marks seen a month ago.
Inpatient beds were 82% full on Friday. The inpatient occupancy rate peaked at 88% on July 9-10.
The ICU occupancy rate decreased by 1 point to 83%. It topped out at 91% on July 7.
Hospital bed data on the health department website does not include surge beds that have not been activated but can potentially increase capacity.
Below are Saturday’s latest developments about the coronavirus pandemic from around the state, country and world:
- The Navajo Nation reported 36 new coronavirus cases and two additional deaths. The community has reported a total of 9,293 cases and 470 deaths. A total of 6,810 individuals have recovered from the virus.
- Sonora Quest Laboratories is accused of violating the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act over false claims for coronavirus testing turnaround times, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
