Arizona’s daily tally of new COVID-19 cases fell below 1,000 for the first time in nearly three months Thursday. The state reported 939 new positive cases, the lowest daily report since Nov. 30.
Arizona has reported more than a quarter-million COVID-19 cases just since the beginning of this year. But daily case counts have declined significantly. In early January, the state was averaging more than 9,000 new cases each day, according to trends tracked by ASU's Biodesign Institute. The average is now around 1,500.
Fewer Arizonans have recently been getting tested for COVID-19, but the positivity rate among tests has now also fallen to its lowest point since October. The Arizona Department of Health Services reports about 8% of recent tests have been positive, down from a peak of 25% in late December.
Dr. Joe Gerald with the University of Arizona's Zuckerman College of Public Health wrote in a recent COVID-19 report that risk remains elevated in Arizona, but the state’s outlook is more favorable looking ahead to spring.
"While I believe this winter’s outbreak will be Arizona’s largest, a smaller wave is possible this spring. However, a spring wave should it occur will pose a lesser threat as most of those at risk of hospitalization and death will have been vaccinated," Gerald wrote.
