PHOENIX – Hospitals in Arizona are affected by a mix of COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza.
Some confirmed case numbers are on the rise, others are not.
Weekly confirmed cases of COVID-19 are declining according to the weekly report released by the Arizona Department of Health Services.
The health department reported 10,630 confirmed cases of COVID-19 last week, the lowest weekly number since October. While that’s no guarantee that cases are slowing down in Arizona, it’s a good sign.
The Weekly Flu Report showed 5,181 cases of flu last week that were severe enough to be recorded by hospital surveillance.
This is a 7% increase from the previous week and well above the peak of the five-season average, which occurred during the first week of January and is just under 2,000 cases.
Parents of young children will be relieved to learn that RSV cases reported by hospital surveillance are also on the decline.
The state reported 1,202 cases of RSV, a 22% decrease from last week. The weekly number is still more than triple the five-season average for RSV, peaking at 376 cases in late January.
Of the three respiratory viruses, COVID-19 is still dominant.
Sixty-two percent of confirmed cases were COVID-19. This is down from the 93% recorded in October.
Influenza has accounted for 30% of cases and is expected to increase.
RSV accounts for about 7%.
At this point in the pandemic, the majority of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to the health department are from hospitals or health clinics.
Influenza and RSV cases are from a nationwide implemented hospital surveillance system. For this reason, the number of hospital capacities is an important factor to consider.
In October, the seven-day average of inpatient beds used in Arizona hospitals was 74 percent lower than the COVID-19 pandemic average.
Today, hospital capacity is close to 80%, but it’s down slightly from last week. Last year’s winter COVID-19 surge had bed utilization around 85%.
