Arizona to cut restaurant capacity, boost testing

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday capped restaurants at half of their capacity but declined to shut them down entirely as he looks to beat back one of the world's largest outbreaks of the coronavirus.

Ducey also said the state will increase testing with a focus on low-income areas of Phoenix as many people report it's hard or impossible to find tests.

Most people are waiting up to a week or more for test results.

He encouraged people to continue sacrificing, noting the early signs of potential improvement nearly two weeks after he ordered the closure of bars and gyms and urged people to stay home whenever possible.

Arizona continues to report record highs for hospitalizations and use of ventilators.

After a drop in the number of additional cases reported in the early part of the week, they shot back above 4,000 on Thursday.

The Department of Health Services reported 75 additional deaths, increasing state's total to 2,038.

The additional 4,057 confirmed cases reported Thursday brought the total to 112,671.

The state's case count doubled in two weeks.

Arizona has emerged as a national hot spot since Ducey loosened stay-home restrictions in mid-May, drawing national attention to the state and Ducey's response to the outbreak.