Arizona reports 69 virus deaths as rolling average increases

Arizona on Saturday reported 2,916 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and 69 more deaths as the pace of virus deaths nearly doubled over the past two weeks.

The additional cases and deaths increased the state’s pandemic totals to 1,081,790 cases and 19,806 deaths, according to the state’s coronavirus dashboard.

The dashboard also reported that 1,834 COVID-19 patients occupied inpatient hospital beds as of Friday, a level below the current surge’s peak of 2,103 on Sept. 12.

The state’s seven-day rolling average of daily deaths rose from 26.9 on Sept. 9 to 51.1 on Thursday, while the rolling average of daily new cases dropped from 2,649.3 to 2,467.1 during the same period, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Deaths are considered a trailing metric in the pandemic, with increases in the number of deaths usually trailing those of cases and hospitalizations.

MAP: Arizona Coronavirus cases by zip code

MORE: Coronavirus in Arizona: Latest case numbers

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