Arizona coronavirus update: 22,223 confirmed cases, including 973 new ones reported Wednesday; 981 known deaths

Wednesday marked Arizona's second consecutive day of record numbers of new coronavirus cases reported, with 973 COVID-19 positives reported on Wednesday and 1,127 new cases reported Tuesday.

Wednesday's total case count was at 22,223, a 4.6% increase from Tuesday's 21,250 cases.

The state also reported a dramatic number of new deaths — 40 new deaths — bringing Arizona's total to 981.

Prior to Wednesday's reported increase of 973 cases and Tuesday's reported increase of 1,127 cases, new cases reported daily have typically been in the several hundreds. The daily increase in case numbers also reflects a lag in obtaining results from the time a test was conducted.

Additional deaths are reported each day as well, and have varied between single- and double-digit increases. The number of deaths reported each day represents the additional known deaths reported by the Health Department that day, but could have occurred weeks prior and on different days.

The date with the most deaths in a single day so far is April 30 with 27 deaths, followed by April 23 and May 8 with 24 deaths each. Next come April 20 and May 7 with 23 deaths and April 19, May 3 and May 5 with 22 deaths on each of those days, according to Wednesday's data, which is likely to change in the days ahead as more deaths are identified.

Maricopa County's confirmed case total was at 11,068 on Wednesday, according to state numbers. 

"We are seeing some indicators that the number of cases in Maricopa County are starting to rise," county spokesman Ron Coleman said in an email. "This is in addition to an increase from increased testing.

"We want people to know that if they can still practice social distancing, they should, and if they cannot, then maintain at least six feet of distance. If they cannot stay home and maintain six feet of distance from others, we recommend people wear a cloth face covering," Coleman said. 

The number of Arizona cases likely is higher than official numbers because of limits on supplies and available tests. The state announced on April 23 that anyone who believes he or she could be infected can now get tested.

The Governor's Office and Health Department announced a "testing blitz" with the goal of testing 10,000 to 20,000 people each Saturday in May. Arizona has significantly increased diagnostic testing over the past several weeks because of loosened testing requirements and the weekend blitzes.

The percentage of positive tests per week increased from 5% three weeks ago to 6% two weeks ago to 9% last week. The ideal trend is a decrease in percent of positives tests out of all tests. 

The state's effort to add new hospital beds has affected the hospitalization data. While the percentage of beds available has been fairly stable over the past couple weeks, the raw numbers of people in the hospital due to COVID-19 have actually gone up.

Statewide hospitalizations of people with positive and suspected COVID-19 in Arizona have hit record highs in recent days, hovering steady over the weekend and reaching a new high of 1,092 hospitalized on Tuesday. Ventilator use and ICU bed use by patients with positive and suspected COVID-19 also were at around their highest levels since the state began reporting this data in early April.

The latest Arizona data

As of Wednesday morning, the state reported death totals from these counties: 466 in Maricopa, 196 in Pima, 85 in Coconino, 67 in Navajo, 47 in Mohave, 45 in Apache, 39 in Pinal, 19 in Yuma, six in Yavapai and five in Cochise.

La Paz County and Gila County officials reported two deaths each and Graham County and Santa Cruz County reported one death each, although the state site listed the first three counties as just having fewer than three deaths and Santa Cruz as having none. Greenlee County reported no deaths.

Of the statewide identified cases overall, 47% are men and 53% are women. But men made up a higher percentage of deaths, with 54% of the deaths men and 46% women as of Wednesday. 

People 65 and older made up 759 of the 981 total deaths, or 77%. People aged 55-64 made up 12% of deaths, followed by those aged 45-54 with 6% and 20-44 with 5% of deaths.

While race/ethnicity is unknown for 12% of deaths, 47% of deaths were white, 19% were Native American and 16% were Hispanic or Latino.

Overall, Arizona has 309.1 cases and 13.65 deaths per 100,000 residents, according to state data.

The scope of the outbreak differs by county. Maricopa County has 253.4 cases and 10.67 deaths per 100,000 residents, and Pima has 251.5 cases and 18.76 deaths per 100,000 residents.

Coconino has 805.3 cases and 57.72 deaths per 100,000 residents, and Navajo has 1,767.3 cases and 59.38 deaths per 100,000 residents.

Of the 22,223 cases, 28% involve individuals with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, cardiac disease, hypertension, chronic pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease or chronic liver disease. In addition, 38% of all cases are considered "high-risk," meaning the individual is either over 65 or has a chronic condition.

Of all confirmed cases, 10% are younger than 20, 41% are aged 20 to 44, 16% are aged 45 to 54, 14% are aged 55 to 64 and 19% are over 65. This aligns with the proportions of testing done for each age range.

The state Health Department website said both state and private laboratories have completed a total of 244,525 diagnostic tests for COVID-19, and 100,519 serology, or antibody, tests.

Most COVID-19 diagnostic tests come back negative, the state's dashboard shows, with 6.8% positive. For serology tests, 3% have come back positive. 

Maricopa County’s Department of Public Health provided more detailed information on a total of 10,948 cases Wednesday (the state reported the county case total at 11,068):

• Confirmed cases increased by 521 from Tuesday to Wednesday. Deaths increased by 16 to 445. 
• The cases are 46% men and 54% women. 
• 1,350 cases have been linked to residents of long-term care facilities. Of those, 435 people (32%) have been hospitalized and 310 people (23%) have died.
• 211 long-term care facilities have at least one positive case from a resident or staff. Of the 721 staff members at these facilities who have tested positive, 56 have been hospitalized and three have died.
• 917 people under age 19 have tested positive, making up 8% of positive cases.
• People aged 20 to 44 make up 42% of positive cases, followed by people 45 to 64 years old at 30% and people 65 or older at 19%.
• 15%, or 1,606 cases, have been hospitalized.
• 3%, or 376 cases, have been in the intensive care unit. The hospitalization and ICU numbers include any cases that were in the hospital or ICU at any time during their illness, the county says.
• The likelihood of being hospitalized or in the ICU increases with age. Of those aged 20-44, 339 (7%) were hospitalized and 56 (1%) were in the ICU. For people aged 45-64, 555 (17%) were hospitalized and 137 (4%) were in the ICU. Among those over age 65, there were 699 (34%) hospitalized and 180 (9%) in the ICU.
• Of the 445 deaths in Maricopa County, nine were aged 20-44, 53 were aged 45-64 and 383 were over age 65.
• Of the 445 deaths, 86% were 65 or older, 67% had a chronic medical condition and 94% were high risk (meaning 65 or older or at least one chronic medical condition).

Cases rise in other counties

According to Wednesday's state update, Pima County reported 2,627 identified cases. Navajo County reported 1,994 cases, while Apache County reported 1,586; Coconino County 1,186; Yuma County 1,387; Pinal County 940; Santa Cruz County 438; Mohave County 422; and Yavapai County 304. 

Cochise County reported 94 cases, La Paz County 91, Graham County 41, Gila County 37 and Greenlee County eight, according to state numbers.

The Navajo Nation reported a total of 5,533 cases and 252 confirmed deaths as of Tuesday evening. The Navajo Nation includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

The Navajo Nation has issued an emergency order requiring all individuals to wear masks in public and has continued to enforce 57-hour weekend curfews in order to slow the spread.

193 cases in Arizona prisons

The Arizona Department of Corrections' online dashboard said 193 inmates had tested positive for COVID-19 as of Tuesday. The cases were at these eight facilities: 75 in Florence, 62 in Yuma, 28 in Tucson, ten in Phoenix, nine in Marana, five in Eyman, two in Perryville and two in Kingman.

The department had tested 1,393 inmates, with 1,162 negative cases and 38 pending out of a total population of 40,975.

Seven inmate deaths are under investigation, with two deaths at Florence and one at Tucson determined to be directly or indirectly the result of COVID-19. Four other deaths, three at Florence and one at Tucson, are preliminarily attributed to COVID-19. Fifty-two inmates have recovered. 

Eighty-eight staff members have self-reported positive for the virus, and 62 have been certified as recovered, the department said. 

Both legal and nonlegal visitations have been suspended through June 13, at which point the department will reassess. Temporary video visitation will be available to approved visitors and inmates who have visitation privileges, the department announced. Inmates are eligible for one 15-minute video visit per week. CenturyLink also is giving inmates two additional 15-minute calls for free during each week visitation is restricted.

Separately, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office on May 27 reported its first positive case, a male inmate between 30 and 40 years old who was not showing symptoms. He was placed in medical isolation and being monitored, officials said.

Reach the reporter at Alison.Steinbach@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-444-4282. Follow her on Twitter @alisteinbach.

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