PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona has reported 88 deaths from COVD-19, while virus-related hospitalizations continue to climb.
The state on Saturday also reported over 16,500 additional confirmed infections, the most in a year.
The spread of the omicron variant has resulted in lines of cars on streets near testing sites. Though early studies show omicron is less likely to cause severe illness than the previous delta variant, hospitals statewide remain crowded statewide. COVID-19-related hospitalizations in Arizona increased for the seventh straight day, with nearly 2,600 virus patients occupying inpatient beds as of Friday.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, Arizona's seven-day rolling average of daily new cases tripled over the past two weeks from 2,945.6 on Dec. 23 to 9,091.6 on Thursday.
