Arizona hospitals remain crowded even as COVID-19 patient counts are dropping statewide while fewer additional confirmed infections and virus-related deaths are reported.
COVID-19 patients occupied only 22% of inpatient beds as of Wednesday, down from a six-month high of 41% on Jan. 27, but inpatient beds overall remain nearly full because more non-COVID-19 patients are hospitalized, according to the state’s coronavirus dashboard.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 patients still account for about 70% of emergency room usage, the dashboard said.
As of Wednesday, 1,915 virus patients occupied inpatient beds, down from the six-month peak of 3,559 on Jan. 27.
Health officials have attributed continued hospital crowding to several factors besides the still-large numbers of COIVID-19 patients, many of whom require extended hospital stays. Those other factors include increases in people seeking health care with the slowing of the pandemic and the more serious conditions of some newly hospitalized patients who did not get care earlier.
Arizona on Thursday reported 209 additional COVID-19 deaths, one of the largest single-day increases in months, but the pace of reported additional deaths has slowed recently.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, the state’s seven-day average of daily deaths decreased from 78.5 on Feb. 1 to 57.6 on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the seven-day average of known daily new cases plunged from 12,434 to 3,634 during the same period. Those infection figures don’t include the results of many tests conducted at home.
The additional 209 deaths reported Thursday increased the state’s pandemic toll to 27,398.
According to federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, Arizona has the 11th most COVID-19 deaths among U.S. states and the third-highest rate of virus deaths per population.
