ARIZONA, USA — Editor's Note: The above video is from an earlier broadcast.
Higher than normal student absentee rates were reported Wednesday in metro Phoenix, where many school districts resumed classes even as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations surged across Arizona.
The state's COVID-19 hospitalizations increased for the fourth straight day as Arizona's seven-day rolling averages for virus cases and deaths rose over two weeks.
There were 2,555 COVID-19 patients occupying hospital inpatient beds statewide on Tuesday.
The state's coronavirus dashboard shows that's up from 2,283 on Saturday. The dashboard shows 61 additional COVID-19 deaths and 7,749 additional confirmed cases.
The CDC says Arizona now has the fourth-highest COVID-19 death rate among U.S. states.
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