Arizona: Over 3,000 new COVID-19 cases for 12th day in a row

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PHOENIX (AP) - Health officials in Arizona on Sunday reported 19 new COVID-19 related deaths plus more than 3,000 new cases for the 12th consecutive day.

The 3,231 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases pushed the state’s total to 1,316,189 since the pandemic began with 23,040 known deaths so far.

Arizona reported 3,774 new cases and 74 more deaths Saturday as virus-related hospitalizations remained near the current surge’s peak.

Updated figures posted on the state Department of Health Services’ coronavirus dashboard showed 2,749 COVID-19 patients occupied hospital inpatient beds as of Friday, down from the surge’s peak of 2,800 last Sunday.

Arizona’s virus-related hospitalizations remain far below the pandemic peak of 5,082 last January but hospitals are more crowded now because of larger numbers of non-virus patients also being treated.

According to Johns Hopkins University data, the state’s seven-day rolling averages of daily new cases and daily deaths in Arizona both rose over the past two weeks.

The rolling average of daily new cases increased from 3,682 on Nov. 25 to 3,856 on Thursday while the rolling average of daily deaths increased from 41.6 to 78.6 during the same period.