By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times
The number of Arizonans hospitalized with positive or suspected cases of COVID-19 shot past 1,000 on June 1, raising questions from the state’s former health chief about whether Gov. Doug Ducey should have abandoned his stay-at-home order.
The figure, a record, comes amid what has been a steady upward trend since the Department of Health Services began tracking the numbers in early April.
It also follows the setting of another record last week, with 635 positive cases reported from tests conducted on May 26.
There is some fluctuation in those daily numbers, with reports sometimes taking days to be filed with the state. And even the Department of Health Services says that illnesses within the past four to seven days may have yet to be reported.
But here, too, there is a general upward trend.
Overall, the state reported 24 new deaths on June 2, bringing the total for Arizona up to 941.
