/ Modified jun 10, 2022 4:25 p.m.

COVID risks up in Arizona

The CDC has raised the transmission rates for many Arizona counties.

coronavirus hero COVID19
CDC

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that six Arizona counties, including Pima, Cochise, and Maricopa, now have a medium level of community spread.

Apache and Navajo counties were returned to the high-risk category. Santa Cruz and the remaining counties still are considered to have a low level of community spread for COVID-19, according to the CDC.

Pima County Health Director, Dr. Theresa Cullen, told AZPM that the change in level is based on laboratory tests, but with many people now testing at home, the actual case rate could be even higher.

"We know there's a huge number of tests that are occurring at home and so we know that this is not the accurate number. It's in a sense the basement of where we are not the ceiling," said Cullen.

She recommended that people with health conditions that put them at high risk of complications should continue wearing face masks indoors, especially around people who are not part of their household.

Cullen predicted that Pima County will stay in the medium transmission rate for several more weeks.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona