How Arizona Is Weathering The Pandemic: See Weekly Data

ARIZONA — Weekly White House data is offering new insights into the status of the coronavirus pandemic in Arizona, and how the state compares to others in the U.S.

The White House COVID-19 response has compiled state-by-state data throughout the pandemic, but the reports were kept private from the public under former President Donald Trump's administration. The reason for keeping them hidden, according to a report by the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity, was to encourage states to lead their own response to the pandemic.

All 52 state profile reports can be found online, including one for Arizona. Each report is updated weekly.

Here's how Arizona fared in this week's report, which was updated on Tuesday.

Arizona reported 376 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, down from 553 the week before. That puts the state's infection rate closer to the national average, which boasts 263 cases for every 100,000 people. The U.S. Department of Health Services has said they would like that rate to be below 25. For the second week in a row, Arizona's numbers are trending downward.

While the last report saw in increase in Arizona's death rate, this week saw a 9 percent decrease. The state saw 926 deaths for an average of 12.7 deaths per 100,000 people. That's down from 1,021 deaths the week prior. In contrast, the U.S. saw 22,611 deaths for a rate of 6.8 for every 100,000 people. The national rate did not change week-over-week.

(White House COVID-19 Team)

New hospitalizations also were down this week by 22 percent, as is the number of Arizona hospitals reporting supply shortages, by a substantial 23 percent.

Several of the state's 15 counties have moved out of the 'red zone' and into the 'orange zone' for test positivity and new cases, including Coconino, Santa Cruz and La Paz. Greenlee, which had been in orange, has now moved into the lowest 'yellow zone.' Maricopa and Pima Counties, the two largest in the state, continue to have the two highest infection rates.

Arizona's coronavirus testing is still ahead of the national rate, though it has decreased by 11 percent from the week before. The state conducted approximately 213,850 lab tests for a rate of 2,983 per 100,000 people. That's down from last week's 239,119 lab tests. The national average is 2,854 for every 100,000 people.

Approximately 12.7 percent of all coronavirus tests in the state are returning positive, which is significantly higher than the national rate of 7.8 percent. But that number is down in Arizona by 3 percent from the week prior, so percent positivity is trending in the right direction.

The White House report ranks all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, based on their number of new cases per every 100,000 residents. Arizona took the fifth spot on this week's list after reaching second last week; the state once topped the list for weeks. South Carolina now holds the number one spot, followed by Texas, Arkansas and North Carolina.

Arizona's coronavirus vaccination plan is moving along, with the state announcing the addition of a third state-run site in Tucson and Maricopa County moving to expand its age eligibility to adults over the age of 65.