With another 2,984 news cases of COVID-19 being reported by the state Department of Health Services Nov. 17, Arizona has confirmed nearly 280,000 cases since the start of the pandemic. But research from Maricopa County suggests the number of people who have actually been infected with this virus is far larger than that — four times larger, in fact.
Earlier in the fall, the Maricopa County Department of Public Health partnered with ASU and the Mayo Clinic to test 260 people across the county for antibodies that cause COVID-19. They found that for every case reported to the county, as many as four cases were not.
Despite these findings, Gov. Doug Ducey released a short video statement Nov. 16, applauding Arizonans for pulling together to “beat back this virus.”
“I also want to thank our business community for stepping up as well and making sacrifices. Arizona took several targeted steps this summer to stem the tide. Now, as cases rise nationally and in Arizona, many of those mitigation measures remain in place," Ducey said.
But health experts — and the county’s research — say the worst is yet to come.
The Show talked to Marcy Flanagan, Maricopa County public health director, about what the survey’s findings suggest about how prevalent the virus actually is in our community.
