On Wednesday, November 10, the state of Arizona reported 3,794 new cases of COVID-19 and 39 new dates related to COVID-19. The figures came after four straight days of case counts over 3,000, but do not represent a downward trend. This brings the state total of deaths related to COVID-19 to 21,525. Nearly 60% of eligible individuals have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Only 7% of intensive care unit beds are available this week, with occupancy by COVID-19 patients rising slightly to 23%.
This information comes from the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) COVID-19 data dashboard. On Monday, health officials reported 2,657 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and no new deaths, according to U.S. News and World Report.
Arizona will not stop using COVID-19 relief funding for anti-mask grants, said Governor Doug Ducey’s federal grant team manager in a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department, U.S. News reports. The Treasury requested the governor cease using the relief funds for the anti-masking program, which gives $7,000 to parents who want to remove their children from schools that require masking on campus. The grant program contains $163 million in funding from the CARES Act. From Jason Mistlebauer, from Ducey’s grant team:
In Arizona, disadvantaged communities bear the brunt of overbearing measures and the state wants to ensure that low-income students are not disproportionately affected by mask mandates rules and school closures.
The Biden administration has moved to invest $650 million in rapid diagnostic testing in order to increase access to tests, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The department cites the need for at-home testing and follow-up testing in health care settings as the pandemic continues. From HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra:
Access to fast, accurate, and reliable tests help keep Americans safe and healthy. Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, we are increasing our testing supply, investing in American manufacturers, and continuing to support these critical tools for getting the pandemic under control.
Kaiser Health News looked at the rate of in-hospital spread among Medicare and other patients and found that it was less frequent than in other countries like the United Kingdom, which makes the data public. According to KHN, 1.7% of U.S. hospitalized COVID-19 patients were diagnosed with the virus in hospitals. But the rate of infection was higher in 38 hospitals where 5% or more of the Medicare COVID-19 cases were documented as hospital-acquired.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.