The Arizona Department of Health Services is reporting over 131,000 cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday morning.

In Arizona, there are 131,354 cases and 2,434 deaths of the novel coronavirus, up 3,257 and 97 from Tuesday morning, respectively. That computes to a 1.85% death rate of confirmed cases in the state.

Arizona — the 14th most populous state in the U.S. — is one of 10 states with over 100,000 cases after Pennsylvania topped that mark on Tuesday.

The Maricopa County Department of Public Health reports 85,949 cases and 1,232 deaths in Arizona’s most populous county. State and county numbers differ depending on reporting times.

Maricopa County shows a case rate of 1,928 cases per 100,000 residents, using 2019 Census Bureau estimates. The state rate is 1,805. Santa Cruz County has the highest at 4,787 cases per 100,000 residents.

The coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough for most people.

But for some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness including pneumonia, and death.

The AZDHS on Wednesday announced a partnership with Vizient, Inc. to bring nearly 600 critical care and medical-surgical nurses from out of state into Arizona to support expanded capacity within hospitals.

Hospitals in need of critical staffing support may receive these resources from AZDHS free of charge for up to six weeks as they enhance their internal surge plans to fill staffing gaps, according to a release.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Arizona have increased with hospitals reporting nearly 3,500 COVID-19 inpatients and more than 900 patients in their intensive care units. Hospitals have reported the ability to activate additional beds in their facilities with access to more nursing staff.

Over the last month, federal partners have sent nearly 100 National Disaster Medical System personnel to Arizona on a two-week deployment at the request of state and local public health and hospitals, the release states. The staffing support provided by AZDHS will offer additional assistance.

“ADHS is committed to supporting our hospital partners and frontline healthcare workers,” said Dr. Cara Christ, director of AZDHS. “Our frontline healthcare workers and hospital staff have worked tirelessly to care for Arizonans and we are so appreciative of their efforts. We’ve prioritized providing these staffing resources to fill critical resource gaps in hospitals and ensure they can continue to provide excellent care across the state.”

Hospitals will be prioritized for staffing placement based on patients’ referrals through the Arizona Surge Line, or if they have the ability to manage more intensive care unit or medical-surgical patients with increased staffing. Staffing placement will be coordinated through the Arizona Surge Line based on an application completed by the hospital.

To be eligible, hospitals must be operating in accordance with all Executive Orders, provide expedited onboarding and orientation, and have exhausted other existing avenues of increasing staffing.

Arizonans can support hospitals and healthcare workers by continuing to practice COVID-19 prevention measures:

• Physically distance by staying at least six feet away from others.
• Wear a cloth face covering in public.
• Arizonans at higher risk for severe illness should continue to stay at home and avoid attending settings with 10 or more people who are not usual household contacts. People at higher risk for severe illness include adults 65 or older and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
• Stay at home when you are sick.

If you believe you have been exposed to or infected with COVID-19, stay home unless you are seeking medical care. Arizonans can find COVID-19 testing locations at www.azhealth.gov/COVID19testing.

The Arizona Surge Line is a free 24/7 service managed through AZDHS that hospitals can call to facilitate the transfer of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases to an appropriate level of care. Arizona hospitals have agreed to provide near real-time bed and ventilator status through a central hub and to rapidly place patients if bed space is available. The Arizona Surge Line will also coordinate the transport between facilities if a transfer is necessary.

View cases by ZIP code on the AZDHS webpage.