COVID-19 numbers for Arizona appear to be steady as the Delta variant continues to ravage the country.
According to CDC data on COVID cases for U.S. states, Arizona has had 17,505 new cases since September 21 with a positivity range of 10 to 15%. For the past week, the state had cases at a rate of 240.5 per 100 thousand people. Other states such as California and Washington had rates of 77 and 273.1 respectively.
According to the Arizona Department of Health Services’s (ADHS) COVID-19 Data Dashboard, there were just 3,185 cases on September 20. There’s little change though with 3,373 cases a week earlier on September 13 and 3,395 cases a month earlier on August 20.
Unsurprisingly, the 20 to 44 year old age group continues to lead the state in total cases. The age bracket accounts for 44% of the total number of cases with a case count of 475,441.
As cases remain stable, COVID-induced deaths appear to be on the decline. Numbers from the ADHS dashboard show there were 20 deaths from the virus on September 20 — a drop from 37 deaths a week earlier on September 13. Data from the dashboard shows these numbers have been declining since reaching a high of 46 deaths at the beginning of the month.
As the case numbers among 20 to 44 year olds remain high, so does the percentage of those that are vaccinated. According to ADHS data from September 28, the 20-34 and 35-44 age brackets had vaccination rates of 54.4% and 62.6% respectively. These numbers, however, fall well below the rates of older age brackets.
ICU bed usage by COVID-19 patients doesn’t appear to be wavering either. ADHS data shows 31% of adult ICU beds are occupied by COVID patients. This number hasn’t changed much since a week earlier with 32% on September 14 and 31% at the beginning of the month.
As ICU bed usage remains stable, COVID-19 discharges appear to be on the downturn. ADHS data showed a decrease in discharges over the month of September with 411 discharges on September 21 as compared to 469 a week earlier.
Gov. Ducey remains steadfast in his stance against vaccine mandates. Earlier this month, President Biden released a COVID-19 plan that includes policies requiring vaccines or regular testing for companies with more than 100 workers.
Ducey released a statement framing the president’s actions as an attack on peoples’ freedoms and something that ultimately undermines confidence in the vaccine.