Arizona Reports Nearly 300 Virus Deaths, Almost 10K Cases

Arizona on Thursday reported a pandemic-high number of deaths for the second time this week along with nearly 10,000 additional known COVID-19 cases.

As on Tuesday when the state reported a then-record 253 deaths, the state said most of the 297 deaths reported Thursday were newly attributed to recent reviews of past death certificates. The state reported 9,913 newly confirmed cases Thursday. That increased the state’s pandemic totals to 584,593 cases with 9,741 deaths. The surge has stressed Arizona’s health care system, and the state’s coronavirus dashboard reported a record high of 4,920 COVID-19 patients occupying inpatient hospital beds Wednesday.