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Arizona Announces Plans For Coronavirus Testing Surge

AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool

Health officials plan to boost Arizona’s coronavirus testing with free screenings in two low-income Phoenix neighborhoods.

State officials said Tuesday the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will test up to 5,000 people per day beginning Friday in South Phoenix and Maryvale. Both are areas where people have reported hours-long waits in the scorching heat for tests. The surge testing is scheduled to last 12 days. Arizona has by far the nation’s highest rate of positive coronavirus tests, with more than one in four tests detecting the virus, an indication the state doesn’t have enough testing available. Arizona on Tuesday again reported an all-time high in hospitalizations because of the disease.

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