Arizona COVID-19 updates: State adds 3,552 new cases, 17 deaths

Arizona cases of COVID-19 increased by 3,552 to a total of 1,179,072 on Thursday.

The state reported 17 new known deaths, bringing the death total to 21,290, according to data released by the state.

See more: covid 19 arizona

Arizona’s seven-day death rate per 100,000 people ranked 22nd among states and territories as of Wednesday, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s the latest:

• What to know about updated COVID-19 vaccine booster guidance
• Are your symptoms signs of a cold, allergies or COVID-19?
• 5 things for parents to consider about COVID-19 vaccines for kids

Follow coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic by Republic and USA TODAY Network reporters here.

9:30 a.m. Nov. 4: State adds 3,552 new cases, 17 deaths

Arizona cases of COVID-19 increased by 3,552 to a total of 1,179,072 on Thursday. The state reported 17 new known deaths, bringing the death total to 21,290, according to data released by the state.

The state reported death totals from these counties: 12,286 in Maricopa; 2,757 in Pima; 1,100 in Pinal; 998 in Mohave; 911 in Yuma; 706 in Yavapai; 632 in Navajo; 492 in Apache; 365 in Coconino; 351 in Cochise; 266 in Gila; 192 in Santa Cruz; 119 in Graham; 99 in La Paz and 16 in Greenlee.

Arizona reported case totals from these counties: 746,380 in Maricopa; 146,005 in Pima; 74,734 in Pinal; 41,802 in Yuma; 33,799 in Mohave; 28,944 in Yavapai; 23,533 in Coconino; 21,974 in Navajo; 16,183 in Cochise; 14,432 in Apache; 9,948 in Gila; 9,156 in Santa Cruz; 7,787 in Graham; 3,232 in La Paz and 1,163 in Greenlee.

For most of May and June, Arizona’s percent positivity for COVID-19 testing was at 4-5%, before rising over the course of July and August. It was 10% for the week of Sept. 5 and 9% for each week after through the week of Oct. 17. It was 10% for the week of Oct. 24 and 11% so far for the week of Oct. 31. The percentages are now for all diagnostic tests conducted, rather than for unique individuals tested, following a change to the state dashboard.

The number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was 1,828 on Wednesday.

The state reported more than 4.2 million Arizonans had received at least one vaccine dose as of Thursday, which represents about 59.4% of the total population. The state’s data dashboard now separates out doses administered to Arizona residents versus all doses administered in the state.

However, 53.3% of all Arizonans had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Wednesday, which is below the national rate of 58.1%, according to data from the CDC.

Of eligible people ages 12 and older, 62.5% of eligible Arizonans had been fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, lower than the national rate of 68%.

— Alison Steinbach

3 p.m. Nov. 3: ‘Not a good time to be in crowds,’ ASU expert says

Dr. Joshua LaBaer, executive director of Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, says he’s concerned about persistently high levels of the COVID-19 virus in the state.

“The virus is out there and it’s still transmitting to people,” he said during a noon briefing on Wednesday. “We have not seen an appreciable drop in weeks now and that surprises me. So, I think that reminds us that really we’re not back to normal yet. … If you haven’t been vaccinated now is the time to do it.”

LaBaer says Arizonans can stay safe by avoiding large groups of people when indoors.

“This is not a good time to be in crowds in Arizona. We’re leading the country right now in transmission, so going out to crowded, indoor events without masks on would not be a good plan,” he said. “If you are around people who aren’t in your immediate circle, I’d be wearing a mask.”

Arizona is one of 41 states in the U.S. with a community transmission rate of “high,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC calculates community transmission based on the number of cases in the last 7 days per 100,000 population and the number of tests in the last 7 days that have a positive result.

While the seven-day average percent positivity in the U.S. was 5.3% as of Tuesday, in Arizona it was significantly higher at a range of 10% to 14.9%, per the CDC.

Percent positivity was 10% for the week of Sept. 5 and 9% for each week after through the week of Oct. 17, according to data from the Arizona Department of Health Services. It was 10% for the week of Oct. 24 and is at 12% so far for the week of Oct. 31.

“I am concerned about the fact that Arizona appears to be in a surge right now,” LaBaer said.

View more: Kyle rittenhouse is he out on bail

— Stephanie Innes

10 a.m. Nov. 3: State adds 2,180 new cases, 124 new deaths

Arizona cases of COVID-19 increased by 2,180 to a total of 1,175,520 on Wednesday. The state added 124 deaths, raising the known Arizona COVID-19 death tally to 21,273.

The state reported death totals from these counties: 12,277 in Maricopa; 2,756 in Pima; 1,099 in Pinal; 995 in Mohave; 911 in Yuma; 704 in Yavapai; 632 in Navajo; 492 in Apache; 365 in Coconino; 351 in Cochise; 266 in Gila; 191 in Santa Cruz; 119 in Graham; 99 in La Paz and 16 in Greenlee.

Arizona reported case totals from these counties: 744,385 in Maricopa; 145,535 in Pima; 74,434 in Pinal; 41,725 in Yuma; 33,726 in Mohave; 28,810 in Yavapai; 23,489 in Coconino; 21,826 in Navajo; 16,064 in Cochise; 14,379 in Apache; 9,900 in Gila; 9,134 in Santa Cruz; 7,740 in Graham; 3,220 in La Paz and 1,153 in Greenlee.

For most of May and June, Arizona’s percent positivity for COVID-19 testing was at 4-5%, before rising over the course of July and August. It was 10% for the week of Sept. 5 and 9% for each week after through the week of Oct. 17. It was 10% for the week of Oct. 24. The percentages are now for all diagnostic tests conducted, rather than for unique individuals tested, following a change to the state dashboard.

The number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was 1,842 on Tuesday.

The state reported more than 4.2 million Arizonans had received at least one vaccine dose as of Wednesday, which represents about 59.3% of the total population. The state’s data dashboard now separates out doses administered to Arizona residents versus all doses administered in the state.

However, 53.2% of all Arizonans had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Tuesday, which is below the national rate of 58%, according to data from the CDC.

Of eligible people ages 12 and older, 62.4% of eligible Arizonans had been fully vaccinated as of Monday, lower than the national rate of 67.9%.

View more: Kyle rittenhouse is he out on bail

— Stephanie Innes

10 a.m. Nov. 2: Cases increase at Arizona universities

COVID-19 cases at Arizona’s universities on the whole are slightly higher than they were last week, after several weeks of generally dropping numbers.

The Arizona Republic monitors COVID-19 spread at the three public universities and private Grand Canyon University, adding updates weekly to the blog. As of about two months into the semester, the major university campuses have kept major outbreaks at bay.

Arizona State University on Monday reported a total of 140 known positive cases among its student population of 77,063, compared with 76 cases the week prior and 83 two weeks ago.

Of the student cases, 126 were off-campus in metro Phoenix. Twelve were isolating on the Tempe campus and two were isolating on the downtown Phoenix, ASU West or Polytechnic campuses.

There were 27 current known cases among 19,146 faculty and staff. Last week there were 20 positives, compared with 19 two weeks ago.

Percent positivity for the weekly random testing program last week was about 0.9% for on-campus students, about 1.9% for off-campus students and about 1.3% for employees.

ASU has reported 1,301 total positive cases since Aug. 1: 964 students and 337 employees. ASU has tested about 76% of students living on campus and about 29% of students living off-campus since Aug. 1.

At the University of Arizona, 60 students and employees tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 10 days, with a percent positivity of 1.4%, according to data posted Monday. Twelve were on-campus students, 36 were off-campus students and 12 were employees. That 10-day number last week was 54, compared with 28 two weeks ago.

Test results from Monday returned nine positives from 576 tests, for a percent positivity of 1.6%.

The university’s seven-day average for new positive test results is 10 per day, compared with eight last week.

A total of 706 people have tested positive since Aug. 2 from 47,462 total tests, with an overall percent positivity of 1.5%. Of the 706 cases, 164 have been on-campus students, 428 have been off-campus students and 114 have been employees.

The university has tested a total of 5,772 individual on-campus students, 7,092 off-campus students and 4,148 employees since Aug. 1.

Northern Arizona University was managing 88 COVID-19 cases among on- and off-campus students as of Oct. 27. The week before that was at 53 cases, compared with 83 cases two weeks earlier.

View more: Boom or bust? Is there a way for Bitcoin price to hit 100K in 2022?

The university did not post information about tests and cases among employees.

Testing locations run by NAU reported 210 positives among 3,962 total tests for the week ending Oct. 23. That’s a positivity rate of 5.3%. Of those 210 cases, 87 are NAU-affiliated and 123 are not.

Grand Canyon University reported 25 active cases as of Oct. 31, down from 27 active cases the week before and 37 two weeks earlier. Of the active cases, 19 are students and six are employees. A total of 975 students and 87 employees have tested positive since Aug. 15. The university does not release the total number of tests administered or the positivity rate.

— Alison Steinbach

9:45 a.m. Nov. 2: State adds 2,350 new cases, -6 deaths

Arizona cases of COVID-19 increased by 2,350 to a total of 1,173,340 on Tuesday. The state subtracted six deaths from the count, bringing the death total to 21,149, according to data released by the state.

The negative death number was due to “merging and a short delay in death record matching,” according to state health officials.

The state reported death totals from these counties: 12,223 in Maricopa; 2,736 in Pima; 1,087 in Pinal; 988 in Mohave; 909 in Yuma; 698 in Yavapai; 629 in Navajo; 487 in Apache; 361 in Coconino; 345 in Cochise; 261 in Gila; 191 in Santa Cruz; 119 in Graham; 99 in La Paz and 16 in Greenlee.

Arizona reported case totals from these counties: 743,175 in Maricopa; 145,218 in Pima; 74,286 in Pinal; 41,707 in Yuma; 33,677 in Mohave; 28,709 in Yavapai; 23,420 in Coconino; 21,745 in Navajo; 16,002 in Cochise; 14,358 in Apache; 9,849 in Gila; 9,118 in Santa Cruz; 7,714 in Graham; 3,218 in La Paz and 1,144 in Greenlee.

For most of May and June, Arizona’s percent positivity for COVID-19 testing was at 4-5%, before rising over the course of July and August. It was 10% for the week of Sept. 5 and 9% for each week after through the week of Oct. 17. It was 10% for the week of Oct. 24. The percentages are now for all diagnostic tests conducted, rather than for unique individuals tested, following a change to the state dashboard.

The number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was 1,881 on Monday.

The state reported more than 4.2 million Arizonans had received at least one vaccine dose as of Tuesday, which represents about 59.3% of the total population. The state’s data dashboard now separates out doses administered to Arizona residents versus all doses administered in the state.

However, 53.2% of all Arizonans had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Monday, which is below the national rate of 58%, according to data from the CDC.

Of eligible people ages 12 and older, 62.4% of eligible Arizonans had been fully vaccinated as of Monday, lower than the national rate of 67.9%.

— Alison Steinbach

9:30 a.m. Nov. 1: State adds 2,090 new cases, 1 death

Arizona cases of COVID-19 increased by 2,090 to a total of 1,170,990 on Monday. The state reported one new known death, bringing the death total to 21,155, according to data released by the state.

The state reported death totals from these counties: 12,230 in Maricopa; 2,736 in Pima; 1,087 in Pinal; 988 in Mohave; 909 in Yuma; 695 in Yavapai; 629 in Navajo; 487 in Apache; 362 in Coconino; 346 in Cochise; 261 in Gila; 191 in Santa Cruz; 119 in Graham; 99 in La Paz and 16 in Greenlee.

Arizona reported case totals from these counties: 741,940 in Maricopa; 144,959 in Pima; 73,791 in Pinal; 41,680 in Yuma; 33,602 in Mohave; 28,619 in Yavapai; 23,391 in Coconino; 21,682 in Navajo; 15,997 in Cochise; 14,348 in Apache; 9,815 in Gila; 9,107 in Santa Cruz; 7,712 in Graham; 3,213 in La Paz and 1,134 in Greenlee.

For most of May and June, Arizona’s percent positivity for COVID-19 testing was at 4-5%, before rising over the course of July and August. It was 10% for the week of Sept. 5 and 9% for each week after through the week of Oct. 17. It was 10% for the week of Oct. 24. The percentages are now for all diagnostic tests conducted, rather than for unique individuals tested, following a change to the state dashboard.

The number of patients hospitalized in Arizona for known or suspected COVID-19 cases was 1,790 on Sunday.

The state reported more than 4.2 million Arizonans had received at least one vaccine dose as of Monday, which represents about 59.2% of the total population. The state’s data dashboard now separates out doses administered to Arizona residents versus all doses administered in the state.

However, 53.1% of all Arizonans had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Sunday, which is below the national rate of 58%, according to data from the CDC.

Of eligible people ages 12 and older, 62.3% of eligible Arizonans had been fully vaccinated as of Sunday, lower than the national rate of 67.8%.

— Alison Steinbach