Arizona health officials on Tuesday reported 595 new coronavirus cases and 20 additional deaths.
The statewide totals now stand at 214,846 cases and 5,498 known deaths.
Meanwhile, the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 showed a very slight rise but ventilator usage was down.
According to Johns Hopkins University data analyzed by The Associated Press, the rolling average number of daily new cases has increased over the past two weeks by nearly 200 — an increase of 33.8%.
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.
