Arizona officials plan COVID briefing on hospital capacity

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona on Tuesday reported over 3,000 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and 120 more deaths amid growing concern about the pandemic’s current surge and its impact on the state’s hospital system. Gov. Doug Ducey’s COVID-19 adviser and hospital leaders scheduled a briefing Tuesday afternoon on “how Arizonans can help preserve hospital capacity during the holiday season.” Virus-related hospitalizations continue to climb, with over 2,500 COVID-19 patients occupying inpatient rooms as of Monday. That’s about half the number of virus hospitalizations during the peak of last winter’s surge but there is currently little available capacity statewide because many hospitals are also caring for large numbers of non-COVID patients.