Slight surge in AZ COVID-19 cases through first week of October

By Dan Engler

Originally Published: October 7, 2020 10:27 a.m.

Arizona’s COVID-19 death count is at its lowest level since April but so far this month the state is seeing a minor surge in positive tests.

So far in October, Arizona is averaging 554 new coronavirus cases daily with 10 deaths being reported each day, on average. That compares with daily averages of 545 cases and 20 deaths in September.

The state continues to average more than 100 cases each day than what was experienced in May just before the June-July caseload explosion.

The Oct. 7 report from the Arizona Department of Health Services shows 604 new cases and 20 deaths in the past 24 hours. That pushes the state’s cumulative totals to 222,538 positive tests and 5,733 deaths since testing began in January.

Arizona’s cumulative positive test ratio has dropped to 10.2%. Arizona hospital intensive care unit bed capacity currently stands at 81%.

COVID-19 cases and deaths by month

-12,475 cases and 597 deaths in May.

-63,920 cases and 803 deaths in June.

-92,930 cases and 1,977 deaths in July.

-25,307 cases and 1,297 deaths in August.

-16,361 cases and 600 deaths in September.

-So far in October, 3,326 cases and 59 deaths.

Arizona’s daily average for new COVID-19 cases, by month:

-May, 415 new cases each day.

-June, 2,130 new cases each day.

-July, 2,997 new cases each day.

-August, 816 cases each day.

-September, 545 cases each day.

-October, 554 cases each day.

Arizona has not come close to duplicating the single-day high of 5,416 cases reported June 29. Not since July 9 has the state had 4,000 or more new cases in a 24-hour reporting period. July 15 was the last time the state reported 3,000 cases in a single day. July 21 was the last day 2,000 cases was reported. Sept. 18 was the last day in which 1,000 or more cases was reported.

Yavapai County Community Health Services reports three new Sedona-Verde Valley case in the past 24 hours. Verde Valley Medical Center currently has one COVID-19 patient admitted to the hospital.

Demographic breakdown of Arizona cases

The Wednesday morning ADHS data shows the 65-and-older age group has accounted for 4,074 of the state’s 5,733 deaths. There have been 909 deaths reported among people 55-64 years of age.

ADHS reports women contract the virus in higher numbers than men in Arizona (52%), but more men than women die from COVID-19 (57%).

Location of cases

Maricopa County has the highest number of coronavirus cases in Arizona with 144,342. That is followed by:

-Pima County has 26,092 cases.

-Yuma County, 12,883 cases.

-Pinal County, 10,859 cases.

-Navajo County, 5,848 cases.

-Coconino County, 4,343 cases.

-Mohave County, 4,075 cases

-Apache County, 3,642 cases.

Testing data

ADHS reports 1.81 million Arizonans have been tested for COVID-19 with the state’s positive test ratio currently standing at 10.2%.

People between the ages of 20 and 44 have had the highest number of positive tests (107,328), with 335 deaths. Seniors 65-and-older have tested positive 25,252 times with 4,074 deaths.

See www.azdhs.gov.

Yavapai County

Yavapai County Community Health Services reports three new Sedona-Verde Valley case in the past 24 hours. Throughout the county, there have been 2,656 positive test results with 84 deaths and 1,411 patients having recovered from coronavirus.

YCCHS reports 750 cases in the Sedona-Verde Valley region since testing began. That total includes:

-288 confirmed in Cottonwood.

-159 in Camp Verde.

-107 in Sedona.

-68 in Clarkdale.

-52 in Rimrock.

-37 in the Village of Oak Creek.

-38 in Cornville.

-One case elsewhere in the Verde Valley.

YCCHS reports 44,739 people in Yavapai County have been tested for COVID-19 with 94.1% of those being negative.

Women outpace men by a 1,519-1,136 margin for positive COVID-19 tests in Yavapai County, according to YCCHS.

See www.yavapai.us/chs.

Hospital Reports

Wednesday morning, Verde Valley Medical Center reported one COVID-positive patient admitted with 11 tests pending. The Cottonwood hospital showed a census of 59 patients with three in critical care.

Flagstaff Medical Center reported six positive tests with 16 results pending. FMC has admitted 198 patients; 32 of those patients are in critical care.

See nahealth.com/covid-19-resources.

U.S. and global totals

The most recent estimates of U.S. and global cases of COVID-19 put the U.S. caseload at 7.53 million Wednesday morning, with the U.S. death tally at 211,000, the highest of any nation in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University.

More Americans have now died from COVID-19 than the death tallies from the 1957-58 Asian Flu pandemic (116,000 U.S. deaths) and the 1968 Hong Kong Flu pandemic (100,000 U.S. deaths). It still pales in comparison to the death count from the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic that claimed 675,000 American lives, and as many as 150 million worldwide.

AIDS claims about 13,000 U.S. lives each year.

The virus is present in all 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to the CDC.

There are an estimated 35.9 million cases worldwide, with 1.05 million deaths and 25 million recoveries.

COVID-19 confirmed cases in Arizona

Aug. 27, 200,139 cases

July 22, 150,609 cases

July 6 101,441 cases

July 3 91,858 cases

July 1 84,092 cases

June 27 70,051 cases

June 25 63,030 cases

June 21 52,390 cases

June 17 40,924 cases

June 11 31,264 cases