While it’s yet to reach totals from other states with similar populations, Arizona public health officials announced their highest increase in total tests over a one-day period.
The Arizona Department of Health Services updated their data Tuesday to show the state’s confirmed 39,097 cases of COVID-19, an increase of 2,392 from Monday. They also attribute 25 new deaths to the virus. The seven-day average of these increases is the highest in the nation. Still, Arizona, the 14th most populous state, is 20th in terms of total COVID-19 cases.
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In Maricopa County, the state’s highest populated and fourth-most populated county in America, public health officials added 1,403 new confirmed cases Tuesday, as well as 11 new deaths. More than two-thirds of the 568 people who have died of COVID-19 in Maricopa County are said to have been in “congregate settings,” primarily assisted living facilities. People aged 65 or older or those who have at least one chronic health condition make up 71 percent of those hospitalized and 94 percent of COVID-19 attributed deaths, the county said in a Monday update.
In the north, Apache and Navajo counties, home to a portion of the hard-hit Navajo Nation, have the highest infection rates per capita, at 2,780 and 2,437, respectively.
With increasing rates of infection, Democrats and local mayors are increasingly vocal in their criticism of Gov. Doug Ducey’s decision to lift closure orders. Others are demanding he allow them to increase their municipalities’ restrictions and even create punishments for not donning a facemask when in public.
