PHOENIX — Cases of COVID-19 continue to climb across the nation and in Arizona.
On Sunday, the Arizona Department of Health Services reported 15,850 new cases of coronavirus and 69 additional deaths, bringing the total statewide death toll to 24,773.
Today’s #COVID19 dashboard update adds 15,850 cases and 69 deaths. Vaccines and boosters continue proving their effectiveness. In November, unvaccinated individuals were 31.1 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than the fully vaccinated. Learn more: https://t.co/pgfLD0qdR4 pic.twitter.com/zmHiUQRPtZ
— AZ Dept of Health (@AZDHS) January 9, 2022
The previous day, Saturday, Arizona reported 88 deaths from COVID-19, while virus-related hospitalizations continued to climb.
The state on Saturday also reported over 16,500 additional confirmed infections, the most in a year.
VIDEO: Mesa - Friday, January 7, 2022
The spread of the omicron variant has resulted inlines of cars on streets near testing sites. Though early studies show omicron is less likely to cause severe illness than the previous delta variant, hospitals statewide remain crowded statewide.
RELATED: Omicron strains Valley testing sites and hospitals
COVID-19-related hospitalizations in Arizona increased for the seventh straight day, with nearly 2,600 virus patients occupying inpatient beds as of Friday.
The latest numbers pushed Arizona’s totals since the pandemic began to 1,477,483 cases with 24,773 known deaths.
The state health department’s COVID-19 dashboard showed 7,749 cases with 61 deaths on Wednesday, 10,679 cases and 16 deaths Thursday and 14,888 cases with 30 deaths Friday.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, Arizona’s seven-day rolling average of daily new cases tripled over the past two weeks from 2,945.6 on Dec. 23 to 9,091.6 on Thursday.