PHOENIX — Arizona on Tuesday reported over 10,000 new known coronavirus cases, but the state said the record number nearly three times the latest seven-day daily rolling average reflected not only the current surge but also delayed reporting by local health officials due to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
“Today, the number of new cases reported is up significantly from what has been reported in the past. This large number of newly reported cases is a result of the extended four-day weekend,” the state health director, Dr. Cara Crist, said in a blog post.
The state’s coronavirus dashboard reported 10,322 additional cases and 48 additional deaths as the state’s totals increased to 337,139 cases and 6,687 deaths. Hospitalizations related to covid-19 continued to increase, reaching 2,594 on Monday, with 597 patients in intensive care unit beds.
Arizona’s largest daily case report on a single day was 4,878 on July 1 during the summer surge when the state was a national hotspot. Other large daily reports include 4,682 on June 30 and 4,471 on Nov. 20.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Arizona rose over the past two weeks from 2,459 new cases per day on Nov. 16 to 3,499 new cases per day on Monday, when Arizona reported only 822 new cases, according to The Covid Tracking Project.
The number of actual infections is thought to be far higher than the confirmed numbers because many people don’t get tested.
Christ wrote in a blog post that the long weekend meant “classification was delayed for a large portion of cases, resulting in much higher numbers than usual.”
Holiday travel and gatherings were expected to increase cases and related hospitalizations in the next few weeks, she said.
