Arizona on Wednesday reported over 70 additional COVID-19 deaths for the second consecutive day and the fifth time this month.
The 2,106 additional cases and 74 deaths increased the pandemic totals to 1,072,863 cases and 19,658 deaths, according to Arizona’s coronavirus dashboard.
The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations remained below 2,000 for the fifth straight day, with 1,897 virus patients occupying hospital beds on Tuesday, the dashboard reported.
While the pace of additional cases has dropped over the past two weeks, the rate of additional deaths rose, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
The seven-day rolling average of daily deaths rose from 38 on Sept. 6 to 40 on Monday while the rolling average of daily new cases dropped from 3,267 to 2,467 during the same period.
In another development, Pima County health officials are preparing to administer vaccine doses to children between 5 and 11 years old once federal officials approve a vaccination expansion, KGUN-TV reported.
“We’re actively planning we reached out to our commercial pharmacy partners to see what their capacity is going to be with the 5 to 11-year-old’s,” said Crystal Rambaud, the county’s immunization program manager.
Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
