Arizona reports 3,686 additional COVID-19 cases, 143 deaths

Phoenix (AP) — Arizona on Friday reported over 3,000 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases for the 14th time this month along with 143 more virus deaths as hospitals remained crowded across the state. The 3,686 additional cases and the additional deaths increased the state’s pandemic totals to over 1,330,000 cases and approximately 23,500 deaths. That’s according to the Department of Health Services’ coronavirus dashboard. Hospitals statewide had 2,569 virus patients occupying inpatient beds as of Thursday, the dashboard reported. That’s below the current wave’s peak of 2,800 earlier this month but still enough to leave just 5% of licensed beds statewide unoccupied.