The Phoenix-based hospital Banner Health says it’s concerned about a steady rise in Arizona coronavirus cases.
Hospital officials tweeted Monday that its intensive care units are very busy, and since May 15 the number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators has quadrupled. Gov. Doug Ducey allowed his stay-at-home order to expire on May 15 when Banner says it had 27 ventilated coronavirus patients. Hospital officials say they had 117 ventilated coronavirus patients Monday.
According to Ducey’s office, the state has doubled testing since his stay-at-home order expired, which accounts for the increase in cases.
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 1,556 new known cases in the state between Tuesday and Wednesday and 25 more deaths. In total, there have been 29,852 known cases with 1,095 deaths in the state since March.
Meanwhile, Coconino County health officials have released their weekly report on COVID-19 infections. During the first week of June, they confirmed 109 new known cases with 1 additional death. It was a slight decline from the last week in May. Total hospitalizations in Coconino County also decreased during the first week in June.
The county, however, has a per-capita infection rate more than double the state’s rate. In all, Coconino County has had 1,264 known cases and 83 deaths since the outbreak began.
