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Q&AZ: What Counts As A COVID-19 'Case'?

The politicization of COVID-19 has muddied the public’s picture of the pandemic, with polls showing perceptions of coronavirus severity splitting along party lines.

One listener wanted to know what we mean when we report a COVID-19 case.

KJZZ News uses new case numbers reported by the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Each case is a person who has tested positive for COVID-19 on a test approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Such standards can change over time, but currently include antigen and serology tests.

Joshua LaBaer leads Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, which also uses the department’s case data.

“We’re going by positive reported test results that get reported to the state as a positive case,” he said.

Each person is counted once, regardless of the number of tests taken. There's just one exception: If someone tests positive again three months after their last test, then AZDHS considers that a reinfection and counts it as a new case.

The AZDHS dashboard also reports cumulative case and death counts, which include both confirmed and probable cases, based on the department's case definitions

Nicholas Gerbis was a senior field correspondent for KJZZ from 2016 to 2024.