PHOENIX — A University of Arizona associate professor is warning Arizona's worsening COVID-19 surge is headed toward a major humanitarian crisis in the coming weeks.
In his latest COVID-19 modeling report, Dr. Joe Gerald writes:
"We have now all but locked in a major humanitarian crisis during the Christmas–New Year holiday with hundreds of preventable deaths per week."
Dr. Gerald also noted, by Christmas, Arizona will experience more than 500 deaths a week, although that might not be apparent until mid-January, when all deaths are accounted for. He referenced a case fatality rate of roughly 1.5%.
As of Monday, the state's coronavirus dashboard reported 3,677 COVID-19 inpatients at Arizona hospitals, the highest such number since the beginning of the pandemic.
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