Arizona reports 5,119 additional COVID-19 cases, 76 deaths
PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona on Saturday reported 5,119 additional known COVID-19 cases and 76 deaths.
The latest figures reported by the Department of Health Services increased the state’s pandemic totals to 753,379 cases and 13,098 deaths.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher than reported because many people have not been tested. Studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
With the pandemic slowing nationwide, COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to drop in Arizona though it remains the U.S. state with the worst diagnosis rate.
On Friday, the state announced that the COVID-19 variant first recorded in the United Kingdom was confirmed in tests from three people in Arizona.
The Department of Health Services said it was working with other public health agencies to monitor the situation and that the development underscored the need for the public to commit to mitigation measures such as wearing masks and social distancing.
No details about the people infected such as if they had recently traveled were given.
Viruses constantly mutate, and coronavirus variants are circulating around the globe. But scientists are primarily concerned with the emergence of three that researchers believe may spread more easily. Variants from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil have already been confirmed in the U.S.
According to the state coronavirus dashboard, 3,828 COVID-19 patients occupied inpatient rooms as of Friday, down from the pandemic peak of 5,082 on Jan. 11.
The state’s seven-day rolling average of daily new cases declined over the past two weeks, dropping from 8,847.9 on Jan. 15 to 5,745.6 on Friday. The rolling average of daily deaths dropped from 157.4 to 145.9 during the same period, according to Johns Hopkins University and The COVID Tracking project.
According to Johns Hopkins, 1 in every 178 residents was diagnosed with COVID-19 during the past week.
Coronavirus in Arizona: Latest case numbers
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