One of the nation’s coronavirus hot spots got a sliver a good news Wednesday.
An Arizona State University researcher and the White House’s coronavirus response coordinator both say an exponential rise in the percentage of people testing positive for the virus appears to have leveled off. But that news was tempered by reports that hospitals are nearly full, and the state is reporting 3,500 additional cases a day. Figures released by the Arizona Department of Health Services show a record 3,421 people being treated at hospitals. The confirmed case count is now over 108,000, and the number of deaths attributed to the virus is 1,963.
Meanwhile, information compiled by the New York Times from public health agencies shows Arizona has the highest rate of growing COVID-19 cases in the world. According to the report, Florida and South Carolina also have some of the fastest expanding infections followed by Bahrain, Quatar and Oman.
Gov. Doug Ducey’s office, however, says while the situation is serious in Arizona the report is misleading. A spokesperson says the state has done far more testing than many countries with high numbers of cases and also has a lower positivity rate.
