With 276 new coronavirus positive tests, Arizona passes 6,000-case mark

Apr 24, 2020, 9:05 AM | Updated: 10:41 am

PHOENIX — With 276 new positive tests for coronavirus reported by the state health department Friday morning, Arizona has surpassed the 6,000-case mark.

The state now has 6,045 cases. The death count reached 266 with 17 new fatalities.

There have been 60,714 tests given in Arizona, an increase of about 2,000 since the previous day.

The Arizona Department of Health Services has been providing case and testing updates on its website each morning. The daily report includes details about deaths and hospital capacity plus a ZIP code map of cases. (Check your ZIP code in the chart below.)

The state reported 5,769 cases and 249 deaths, with 58,697 tests given, on Thursday morning.

The number of cases in Maricopa County, the state’s most-populous region, increased by 146 to 3,116 on Friday, according to the state report.

The Phoenix-area death total increased by five to 120, according to the state.

Of the Arizonans who have died from COVID-19, 200 were age 65 or older, 75% of the total. Thirty-nine deaths were age 55-64, 18 were 45-54 and nine were 20-44.

All but four of the deaths reported Friday were in the 65-or-older group. Two new deaths were in the 20-44 demographic.

Testing for COVID-19 had been limited in Arizona because of supply shortages, but state health officials on Thursday revealed plans to expand availability.

With labs around the state having ramped up capacity, Health Director Dr. Cara Christ said in a blog post that COVID-19 testing criteria have been expanded to include anyone who believes they have been exposed to or potentially infected with the virus.

Previously, testing was prioritized for at-risk populations, people showing serious symptoms and health care workers.

Meanwhile, Arizona’s stay-at-home order, which went into effect March 31 and was designed to reduce the spread of coronavirus, is set to expire April 30.

Gov. Doug Ducey told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Broomhead Show on Thursday morning he has three options to weigh: let the order expire, extend it in its current form or modify it. He said he’ll announce a decision next week.

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.

In most cases, a positive test won’t change a patient’s treatment plan.

Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 46,379 deaths from more than 828,000 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 2.7 million cases and over 192,000 deaths globally as of Friday morning.

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