Arizona adds 1,735 new cases of COVID-19, 54 additional deaths; hospitalizations continue to drop

The state of Arizona saw 1,735 new cases of COVID-19 and 54 additional deaths, as of Saturday morning, March 6, according to the Department of Health Services.

Those numbers brought the state totals since the beginning of the pandemic to 825,119 people testing positive for the coronavirus and 16,323 deaths.

Yavapai County Community Health Services reported 18 new COVID-19 cases Friday, including six new deaths, according to a news release. On Saturday, ADHS added 319 cases and four deaths to the county’s totals.

The county has tested 103,302 residents for COVID-19 with 17,956 positive cases and 473 deaths, according to the state.

The number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations in the state continues to decrease.

As of Friday, 966 COVID-19 patients occupied inpatient beds, down from 1,043 as of Thursday and about one-fifth of the Jan. 11 pandemic high of 5,082, according to the state's coronavirus dashboard.

However, Friday's hospitalization census was still twice as high as Sept. 27's count of 468, the low between last summer's surge and worse but now-receding fall and winter surge.

VACCINE

Yavapai County has administered over 73,000 doses of Moderna vaccine, utilizing 96.4% of the vaccine allocated. A total of 50,263 residents have been vaccinated with the first dose, and close to 24,000 are fully vaccinated, according to a news release.

YCCHS has been working closely with both Spectrum and Yavapai Regional Medical Center to get patients their second appointments through a phone bank and website.

“Currently, second doses have been the priority, with first dose appointments reopening beginning March 15,” YCCHS spokesperson Terri Farneti stated in Friday’s news release.

Check the YCCHS Vaccine Information page for any updates on availability at the Spectrum, YRMC Points of Dispensing, as well as pharmacies listed on the Pharmacy Information page at https://www.yavapai.us/chs/Home/COVID-19/Vaccine.

BULK OF CASES

YCCHS received a late reporting of more than 500 cases of COVID-19 in the county Thursday, March 4. These cases are not new, county health officials said, but each needs to be classified by hand and added to the total count.

For instance, Thursday’s COVID-19 report had 17,486 reported cases in the county, but Friday’s report has 17,568, an increase of 82. Those 82 cases were classified by hand with the cross-referencing procedure.

“There will be a big difference for a week or so, but [we] will report the current cases reported each day,” Yavapai County Epidemiologist Stephen Everett said in a statement.

The Arizona Department of Health Services has reported the full 500 cases Friday on the state’s COVID-19 dashboard, which will reflect higher than the case count YCCHS reports, for instance.

LOCAL COVID-19 INFORMATION

• For Yavapai County COVID-19 vaccine information, visit https://www.yavapai.us/chs/Home/COVID-19/Vaccine.

• Yavapai Emergency Phone Bank for COVID-19 Info: 928-442-5103 – Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• For a COVID-19 test at Community Health Center of Yavapai, call 928-583-1000. For a flu shot, call 928-771-3122.

• COVID-19 information en español: https://www.azdhs.gov/preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/infectious-disease-epidemiology/es/covid-19/index.php#novel-coronavirus-home.