Arizona Sees New Single-Day High Of Nearly 2,400 Virus Cases

PHOENIX, AZ — As Arizona businesses continue to reopen amid the new coronavirus pandemic, the state department of health on Tuesday reported a record number of new cases in a single day. Hospitals are also treating a record number of patients stricken with coronavirus-related illnesses, according to the state.

The Arizona Department of Health Services reported an additional 2,392 confirmed coronavirus cases Tuesday morning, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 39,097. The state also reported 25 additional deaths.

To date, 1,219 Arizonans have lost their lives to coronavirus related illnesses.

Tuesday marked the first time the state has reported more than 2,000 new cases in a single day, per state data. Previously, the record was 1,654 new cases reported on June 12.

The uptick in cases is also being felt at Arizona hospitals. Inpatient beds for patients with suspected and confirmed COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, hit a record number Monday with 1,506 inpatients, according to hospital data reported to the state and posted on its website Tuesday.

ICU beds in use, ventilators in use and emergency department visits for COVID-19 all reached record levels Monday as well.

Despite the spike in coronavirus cases, Gov. Doug Ducey last week defended his plan to reopen the state, the Arizona Mirror reported, attributing concerns about the stark increase in the number of positive cases to misinformation and increased testing.

“We put the stay-at-home order in place so that we can prepare for what we’re going through right now,” he told reporters at a news conference.

The rise in Arizona cases has piqued concern from national experts. The increase comes just a few weeks after Ducey lifted stay-at-home orders and Arizonans flocked to Memorial Day events across the state.

“It’s important that people know we are not seeing an increase in patient volume, we are prepared if that increase should come,” Ducey said. “The facts are, we got an increase in testing, an increase in testing and an increase in positive test results. So we’re going to continue to stay laser-focused on COVID-19.”

According to data from the COVID-19 Tracking Project, Arizona and South Carolina are the two states that “appear to have the most dire situations right now.”

In Pinal County, cases are spiking among inmates at the Eloy Detention Center. On June 11, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported 22 positive cases of COVID-19.

Four days later, that number had jumped 460 percent to 123 confirmed cases, ICE told the Arizona Mirror on Monday.