Arizona health officials on Monday reported 233 new coronavirus cases and two additional deaths, increasing the statewide totals to 214,251 cases and 5,478 known deaths.
The lower count may partly be due to hospitals sometimes lagging in reporting on the weekends.
According to Johns Hopkins University data analyzed by The Associated Press, the seven-day rolling average of daily new COVID-19 cases in Arizona rose over the past two weeks — going from 575 new cases on Sept. 4 to 774 on Friday.
The increase in the average followed the state Department of Health Service’s recent changing of its case-counting methodology to adopt an updated national standard that newly includes “probable” results from less-accurate antigen testing.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.
But for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
