By Mark Carlisle
Twitter: @mwcarlisle

County public health numbers reported zero new coronavirus deaths for the first time in a week Monday and recorded 127 new virus cases.

The lower count may partly be due to hospitals sometimes lagging in reporting on the weekends.

Sunday’s numbers showed only one death in the county. Last week was a bad week in the county’s death tally, recording multiple days of 30-plus deaths for the first time in weeks.

Monday’s tally of 127 was the lowest since the prior Monday, which recorded only 89 cases. All other days last week saw more than 200 cases added a day, peaking at 446 new cases on Friday, Sept. 19.

County cases and deaths have been returning to the levels they were at before the summer surge, though the most recent data shows case numbers ticking up slightly. COVD-19 cases peaked in the county in late June and early July, according to data from the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, reaching 3,825 cases in a day on June 29. In the most recent day of complete data, Sunday, Sept. 13, the county’s seven-day daily average was 196 cases, a slight rise from two days prior when the figure was at 188. Daily cases have not been below 200 since late May, just before the county’s surge in cases.

The county’s surge in coronavirus-related deaths has lagged a couple weeks after the surge in cases, as is typical with COVID-19 reporting. The county’s worst single-day death total was 66 on July 15. Daily death totals declining steadily but have not declined to the level they were at before the county’s surge. In the most recent day of complete data, Friday, Sept. 4, the seven-day daily average was 7 deaths a day, the smallest its been since May 15, well before start of the county’s surge in deaths in mid-June. In early June and prior, before the surge, county death totals were consistently below 10 a day.

Mark Carlisle
Associate Editor | Phoenix
@mwcarlisle

mcarlisle@iniusa.org

Meet Mark

Mark Carlisle joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, covering Glendale. He has since moved to the Daily Independent team, primarily covering the city of Phoenix along with other topics affecting the Valley at-large.

Community: Mark enjoys taking his young son to BabyTime at the Phoenix Public Library, to the OdySea Aquarium and to various sporting events around the Valley.

Education: Chapman University with a BA in English Journalism and one in Screenwriting.

Random Fact: Mark worked at a tuxedo shop in college. Just don’t ask him to tie a bowtie.

 

Hobbies: Spending time with his wife, son and dog, watching sports and TV shows, listening to audiobooks and occasionally writing fiction or designing a board game.