Arizona reports 293 new coronavirus cases, 12 more deaths
May 22, 2020, 9:06 AM | Updated: 12:22 pm
PHOENIX — The Arizona health department reported 293 new coronavirus cases Friday morning and 12 more deaths.
The state’s documented total of cases increased to 15,608, and the death count reached 775.
More than 245,000 combined tests for active COVID-19 infections (PCR testing) and antibodies (serology testing) have been given in Arizona, including 8,069 added to the total Friday. Of those that have been processed, 5.7% have come back positive, continuing a downward trend.
A week ago, the total positive rate was 6.2%. It was steady at 5.8% on Wednesday and Thursday.
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More than 176,000 of the tests, including 4,376 reported Friday morning, have been for coronavirus infections, with a 6.7% positive rate. That rate was 6.8% a day earlier.
For the over 69,000 antibody tests given, including 3,693 added in the latest report, the positive rate is 3%. It was 3.1% a day earlier.
The Arizona Department of Health Services has been providing case and testing updates on its website each morning. The dashboard includes, among other information, testing trends, updated hospital capacity and a ZIP code map of cases.
The daily reports present data after the state receives statistics and compiles them, which can lag by several days. They aren’t meant to represent the actual activity over the past 24 hours.
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On Thursday morning, the totals were 15,315 cases and 763 deaths.
The state has been attempting to boost testing numbers, in part, through its Arizona Testing Blitz.
The program was initially scheduled to run the first three Saturdays of May, but it’s been extended by two weeks. About 30 sites have signed on for this week’s blitz, where anybody with symptoms or who thinks they may have been exposed to COVID-19 can receive PCR testing.
Coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe outcomes, including pneumonia and death.
In most cases, a positive test won’t change a patient’s treatment plan.
Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 93,061 deaths from more than 1.55 million COVID-19 cases as of Thursday’s daily U.S. update.
According to data compiled and regularly updated by Johns Hopkins University, there were more than 5.1 million cases and 333,000 deaths globally as of Friday morning.
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