Arizona reports 69 virus deaths as rolling average increases

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona on Saturday reported 2,916 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and 69 more deaths as the pace of virus deaths nearly doubled over the past two weeks. The additional cases and deaths increased the state’s pandemic totals to 1,081,790 cases and 19,806 deaths. The state’s coronavirus dashboard The dashboard also reported that 1,834 COVID-19 patients occupied inpatient hospital beds as of Friday, a level below the current surge’s peak of 2,103 on Sept. 12. According to Johns Hopkins University data, the state’s seven-day rolling average of daily deaths rose from 26.9 on Sept. 9 to 51.1 on Thursday.