Arizona has the highest covid-19 infection rate in the United States and is on the verge of running out of space in crowded hospitals, according to public health and hospital officials.
The state reached the record for new infections last week, with 11,324 in a single day. It has the highest per capita rate of new Covid-19 infections in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the highest rate of hospitalizations for Covid-19, according to the Covid monitoring project .
As of Monday, approximately 16% of Covid-19 tests in the state were positive again, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University, and health officials estimate that currently one in 10 residents is infected.
“We’re the hottest place in the United States and one of the hottest places in the world,” said Keith Frey, chief physician in the Arizona division of Dignity Health Hospital. “If we don’t curb this over the next few days and weeks, we will fully enter this crisis zone.”
Frey spoke Wednesday at a news conference where the heads of Arizona’s largest health systems met to express the dire situation that has occurred.