Arizona reported just four new positive COVID-19 cases Tuesday. It has been nearly a year since the state had a case report in the single digits.
COVID-19 test result times vary and so do county health departments’ record keeping systems, so daily reports don’t reflect the number of new infections in the past 24 hours, just those that the state tallies. Arizona’s health department cites the Memorial Day holiday for the significant drop in cases. Previous holidays have caused lags in these reports too.
Still, cases are low even for a holiday. Nationwide, fewer than 6,000 cases were recorded May 31 — the lowest number since the early days of the pandemic.
As cases decline nationally, however, Arizona's progress toward containing the virus has been slower than other states'. On average, Arizona is still seeing more than 500 infections per day. The state’s rate of new cases per capita and test positivity rate remain above national averages.
