ARIZONA, USA — Meaningful declines continue to be seen in multiple Arizona COVID-19 metrics, according to the most recent COVID-19 Disease Outbreak Outlook report by the University of Arizona.
The state has seen an 18% decrease in the amount of COVID-19 cases reported since last week, from 47,637 to 38,921. The amount of inpatient and ICU beds in use by COVID-19 patients also saw drops with a 14% decrease and 6% decrease, respectively.
While these improvements are welcomed, Arizona still has the fastest rate of transmission in the nation and state hospitals are still facing a public health crisis, facing shortages of space, personnel, and critical supplies, the university said.
"The tremendous backlog of postponed care will take months to resolve," the report stated. "Hospitals will remain crowded through February before returning to pre-outbreak levels in early spring assuming continued reductions in viral transmission."
The university recommended additional steps be taken in order to further slow the transmission of COVID-19 and reduce hospital burden at a faster pace. The recommendations included:
- Continue wearing a mask in public
- Avoiding social gatherings
- maintain physical distancing
- avoid more than 15 minutes of contact in indoor spaces
You can read the university's full report here.
