Arizona crosses 4,000 mark for reported coronavirus cases
Apr 16, 2020, 9:02 AM | Updated: Apr 17, 2020, 9:11 am
PHOENIX — The Arizona health department reported 272 new positive tests for the coronavirus on Thursday morning, pushing the state total to more than 4,000.
The state also reported eight more deaths, increasing the total to 150.
Arizona now has 4,234 cases during the outbreak, with 47,398 tests having been given.
The Arizona Department of Health Services has been providing daily case and testing updates on its website each morning. The report was recently expanded to include additional details about deaths and hospital capacity plus a ZIP code map of cases. (Check your ZIP code in the chart below.)
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The state reported 3,962 cases and 142 deaths, with 45,310 tests given, on Wednesday morning.
According to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, Arizona followed 22 other states in crossing the 4,000-case mark. According to 2019 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, Arizona is the 14th-largest state by population.
The number of cases in Maricopa County, the state’s most-populous and hardest-hit county, increased by 118 to 2,264 on Thursday, according to the state report.
The Phoenix-area death total increased by four to 64. Of Maricopa County’s cases, 20% of patients have required hospitalization.
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On Wednesday, Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine, Maricopa County’s medical director for public health, said the hospitalization curve related to coronavirus cases has been flattening in recent days.
She said it was likely due to people following social distancing guidelines and measures enacted by Gov. Doug Ducey to stop the spread of COVID-19.
Testing for COVID-19 remains limited because of a national and local supply shortage. Health officials have prioritized at-risk populations, people showing serious symptoms and health care workers for getting tested. In most cases, a positive diagnosis won’t change a patient’s treatment plan.
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 illness, including pneumonia and death.
Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 24,582 deaths from more than 605,000 COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday’s daily U.S. update.
According to data compiled and regularly updated by Johns Hopkins University, there were more than 2 million cases and over 139,000 deaths globally as of Thursday morning.
