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Arizona's COVID-19 Infection Rate Is Up; No Intervention Planned By Gov. Ducey

Arizona’s infection rate is starting to creep back up, and there are no further restrictions planned by Gov. Doug Ducey.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation projects if current practices continue, Arizona will have an average of more than 31 deaths a day by Christmas. Its report also says with a state-wide mask mandate, those deaths could be cut in half.

Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, agrees. 

"If you do the easy things early you can avoid doing the really hard things later. So I give you an example of what are the easy things we can do now. No. 1, we could do a face-covering ordinance or mandate statewide that is enforceable," Humble said.

The state’s r-naught number, the average number of people who become infected by an infectious person, was the lowest in the country just a month ago, and now is in the top 20. The r-naught currently sits at 1.12, its highest point since early June.

A spokesperson for the governor says no one should be alarmed by the figures, citing that the rise in cases was expected with the reopening of schools and businesses.

Arizona Coronavirus Cases, Deaths

? Get The Latest News On COVID-19 In Arizona 

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Jill Ryan joined KJZZ in 2020 as a morning reporter, and she is currently a field correspondent and Morning Edition producer.