Arizona officials: Most virus cases involve younger people
PHOENIX (AP) — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona has now surpassed 100,000 and younger people, not the elderly, make up more than half of them, state health officials said Monday.
The Department of Health Services said more than 62,000 of the 101,441 reported cases involve people younger than 44.
DHS Director Dr. Cara Christ said it’s people between 20 and 44 who can drive community spread of COVID-19.
Last week, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey ordered bars, gyms and movie theaters to close for three weeks in Arizona, which leads the U.S. in new virus cases per capita. The action has drawn criticism from some Republicans and defiance from one metro Phoenix chain of health clubs.
“We urge every Arizonan to follow Gov. Ducey’s executive orders to contain the spread and take simple precautions, such as wearing a face-covering when out in public and avoiding gatherings of people,” Christ said.
Totals released Monday by state health officials include an additional 3,352 confirmed cases and one death. However, they said the figures may be an undercount because of a lag in reporting from hospitals over the weekend. The number of reported COVID-19 deaths stands at 1,810.
Arizona remains high in terms of positive tests and coronavirus hospitalizations. While the test positivity rate nationwide is around 9%, Arizona is around 13.4%. The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients on Sunday was 3,212, a new high, according to state data. Hospital capacity statewide is currently around 89%.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said in an interview on ABC News on Sunday that the surging cases are causing a crisis involving testing shortages in the city.
Gallego, a Democrat, said some residents over the weekend had to line up for eight hours in cars to get COVID-19 tests and the federal government has been slow to help.
Worldwide, the number of infections is thought to be far higher than reported numbers because many people haven’t been tested and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.
The coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough for most people. But for some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.
In another development, a judge said he plans to rule Tuesday on a request from an Arizona health club chain to throw out Ducey’s order to shut down gyms.
Mountainside Fitness, which operates 18 gyms in metro Phoenix and filed a lawsuit challenging the order, argues that no COVID-19 cases have been traced to an Arizona gym and that the state has no rational basis for shutting down gyms that were following the state’s protection guidelines, while letting restaurants and hair salons remain open.
The governor’s attorneys, say the order is sound because there’s an increased likelihood of being infected with COVID-19 through respiratory droplets when people exercise vigorously indoors.
