Arizona reports 488 new COVID-19 cases and 12 more deaths

Thousands of appointments open at Arizona vaccine sites due to cancellations

PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona health officials on Sunday reported 488 new confirmed COVID-19 cases with 12 more deaths amid indications of continued slowing of the coronavirus outbreak.

Arizona’s pandemic totals rose to 836,253 cases and 16,745 known deaths since the pandemic began.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher than reported because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

State health officials said the number of confirmed or suspected coronavirus inpatients in hospitals around Arizona decreased to 631 on Saturday.

In addition, the number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients fell to 173 Saturday and that’s the fewest since Oct. 22.

Arizona’s weekly percent positivity for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, an indicator of how much the virus is spreading in the community, is at a five-month low.

Of the nearly 49,000 people tested so far this week, 5% received a positive result — matching the lowest mark since early October.

Johns Hopkins University data showed the rolling average of daily new cases dropped from 1,265.1 on March 4 to 456.9 on Thursday while the rolling average of daily deaths declined from 62.2 to 24.6 over the same two-week period.

MAP: Arizona Coronavirus cases by zip code