Arizona: More than 3,000 new COVID cases for 4th day in row

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PHOENIX (AP) - Health officials in Arizona on Sept. 5 reported more than 3,000 new COVID-19 cases for the fourth consecutive day.

The state’s coronavirus dashboard showed 3,071 new cases and one additional death.

The latest numbers pushed Arizona’s totals to 1,030,430 cases and 18,998 known deaths since the pandemic began more than a year ago.

State health officials reported 3,470 new COVID-19 cases and 26 deaths Thursday, 3,802 cases with 80 deaths Friday and 3,424 new cases Saturday along with 38 more deaths.

The number of confirmed or suspected COVID-19 inpatients in the state’s hospitals was 2,062 on Saturday — down 20 from Friday.

Meanwhile, the number of ICU beds used by COVID-19 patients increased by two to 563. That’s the most since mid-February.

Authorities said the hospital numbers are about four times higher than when the state’s third wave started in early July.

The state’s coronavirus dashboard also showed that more than 4 million people (56.3% of Arizona’s population) have received at least one dose of vaccine with over 3.5 million fully vaccinated (49.6% of the population).

The nationwide rates are 62.2% with at least one dose and 52.9% fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.