16,339 cases in Arizona; 800 known deaths

Arizona cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, now exceed 16,300 with 800 known deaths, according to numbers released on Sunday by the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Arizona’s total identified cases rose to 16,339 on Sunday, with 800 known deaths, according to the most recent state figures. That’s an increase of 300 confirmed cases, or 1.87%, since Saturday.

The number of confirmed cases reported each day has risen steadily over the past weeks as more testing has taken place.

Reported daily death numbers have spiked throughout the past several weeks, although many occurred in previous weeks and are just being added to the system now because of reporting lags and a new death certificate surveillance process. The number of deaths reported each day represents the additional known deaths identified by the health department that day, but they are often not identified on the actual death date and could have occurred weeks prior.

The dates with the most deaths in a single day so far are April 30 and May 8 with 24 deaths each, followed by April 23 with 23 deaths. Next come April 19,

April 20 and May 5 with 22 deaths on each of those days, according to Saturday data, which is likely to change in the days ahead as more deaths are identified.

Maricopa County has 8,277 confirmed cases, according to state numbers.

The number of Arizona cases likely is higher than official numbers because of limits on supplies and available tests. The state announced April 23 that anyone who believes he or she could be infected can now get tested.

The latest Arizona data

As of Sunday morning, the state reported death totals from these counties: 384 in Maricopa, 172 in Pima (173 was reported on Saturday), 72 in Coconino, 56 in Navajo, 37 in Pinal, 34 in Mohave, 25 in Apache, nine in Yuma and six in Yavapai.

La Paz County and Gila County officials reported two deaths each and Cochise County reported one death, although the state site listed the three counties as just having fewer than three deaths. Greenlee, Graham and Santa Cruz counties each reported no deaths.

Of the statewide identified cases overall, 47% are men and 53% are women. But men made up a higher percentage of deaths, with 55% of the deaths men and 45% women as of Sunday.