Arizona hospitals still overcrowded despite fewer COVID patients

Arizona hospitals remain overwhelmed even as the number of COVID-19 patients is declining statewide while fewer additional confirmed infections and virus-related deaths are reported.

COVID-19 patients only occupied 22% of inpatient beds as of Wednesday, down from a six-month high of 41% on Jan. 27, but overall inpatient beds remain nearly full as more non-COVID-19 patients are hospitalized. state coronavirus control panel.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 patients still account for about 70% of emergency room visits.

As of Wednesday, 1,915 patients with the virus occupied inpatient beds, compared to a six-month peak of 3,559 on January 27.

Health officials attribute the continued overcrowding of hospitals to several factors, in addition to the still high number of COVID-19 patients, many of whom require long hospital stays. These other factors include an increase in the number of people seeking medical care, with the slowing of the pandemic and the more serious conditions of some recently admitted patients who did not receive medical care before.

Arizona on Thursday reported 209 additional deaths from COVID-19, one of the largest single-day increases in months, but the rate of reported additional deaths has slowed recently.

The state’s seven-day average daily death toll dropped from 78.5 on Feb. 1 to 57.6 on Tuesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, the average number of known daily new cases has fallen from 12,434 to 3,634 daily over the same period. These infection figures do not include the results of many home tests.

An additional 209 deaths reported Thursday raised the state’s toll from the pandemic to 27,398.

According to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Arizona has the 11th-highest number of COVID-19 deaths among U.S. states and the third-highest number of virus deaths per population.