By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

Arizona health officials reported 3,858 additional COVID-19 cases Sunday, a single-day high, bringing the state total to 73,908.

This was the seventh time in the last 10 days that daily cases surpassed the 3,000 mark.

Nine additional fatalities were reported, bringing the total to 1,588.

Maricopa County has seen the most cases with 44,962 cases with Pima County in a distant second with 7525 cases.

State health officials recently announced efforts to increase access to COVID-19 testing in partnership with healthcare providers statewide.

  • On Tuesday, an additional Roche testing machine was secured for Sonora Quest Laboratories to expand testing in the state.
  • ADHS is providing additional funding to increase collection sites to expand access.
  • Over the weekend, ADHS provided 10,000 specimen collection kits to Sonora Quest Laboratories to assist with increased demand.

These efforts build on previous actions to expand testing in Arizona, including:

  • Providing $1 million each to Sonora Quest Laboratories and TGen to support COVID-19 testing.
  • Distributing 51,462 specimen collection kits to healthcare partners, laboratories and local health departments.
  • Assisting with procuring equipment, reagents, test kits, and testing supplies for Arizona testing laboratories.

Since April, PCR diagnostic testing has increased nearly 250% from 53,842 tests in April to 188,008 so far in June. More than 445,000 PCR tests have been done in Arizona since the start of the pandemic.

“We know there is a high demand for testing in Arizona, and our public health team is working tirelessly with healthcare partners and private testing labs to develop new strategies to alleviate the wait times for testing and results,” said Governor Doug Ducey. “We’re grateful for the support and advocacy of our healthcare community and our federal partners in delivering for Arizonans.”

“Testing is an important public health tool to help us track COVID-19 and to implement mitigation strategies to slow the spread of the disease in Arizona, so we have been working with our healthcare partners to increase access to testing statewide,” said Dr. Cara Christ, ADHS director. “We know COVID-19 is widespread in every county in Arizona, and I urge everyone to take precautions to protect themselves and their families from the disease.”