PHOENIX — 12 News continues to track the changes with the coronavirus outbreak and vaccination efforts in Arizona with our daily live blog.
Here is the live blog for Friday, April 2.
Major updates:
- There have been 843,132 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 16,989 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona as of Friday.
- There have been 3,474,738 total vaccines administered as of Friday.
- The state does not record how many people have recovered, but Johns Hopkins University estimates the number of people who have recovered.
- You can find COVID-19 testing sites here.
- Go to 12News.com/Vaccine to find more information on the COVID-19 vaccines.
- Scroll down to see how many cases are in each ZIP code and additional information.
- Pima County to expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility on Monday
- Mesa center to serve as Arizona's first indoor drive-in COVID-19 vaccination site
- Arizona to move COVID-19 vaccination site from State Farm Stadium to Gila River Arena
COVID-19 cases reported in Arizona on Friday
There have been 843,132 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 16,989 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state health department data.
That's an increase from the 842,192 confirmed cases and 16,977 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Thursday.
A week ago, there were 838,558 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 16,898 deaths reported in Arizona.
VERSION EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 2 de abril: 940 nuevos casos, 12 muertes se reportan el viernes
940 new cases, 12 new deaths reported Friday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 940 new cases and 12 new deaths on Friday.
Friday marked the 21st day in a row that the department reported less than 1,000 new cases each day.
The department said 120 of the cases reported Friday were lab reports from a partner that spanned the entire pandemic.
Arizona has administered 3,474,738 total vaccines COVID-19 vaccine doses as of Friday.
The department reports the number of new cases on the day the cases were reported to them by counties and hospitals, not on the day when someone was diagnosed with the virus.
There were 12,427 cases reported on the collection date of Jan. 4, the day with the most collected diagnoses so far. The day with the second-most collected diagnoses so far was on Jan. 5, with 11,766 cases. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the day with the highest number of deaths was Jan. 18, when 177 people died. The day with the second-highest number of deaths was Jan. 13, when 173 people died. That is subject to change.
Arizona reached 800,000 coronavirus cases on Feb. 17, 700,000 on Jan. 22, 600,000 on Jan. 9, 500,000 on Dec. 28, 400,000 on Dec. 12, 300,000 on Nov. 23, 200,000 on Aug. 27, 100,000 on July 6 and 50,000 cases on June 21.
The state reached 16,000 coronavirus deaths on on March 2, 15,000 on Feb. 17, 14,000 on Feb. 6, 13,000 on Jan. 29, 12,000 on Jan. 22, 11,000 on Jan. 15, 10,000 on Jan. 9, 9,000 on Jan. 1, 8,000 on Dec. 22, 7,000 on Dec. 9, 6,000 on Nov. 3, 5,000 on Aug. 29, 4,000 on Aug. 6, 3,000 deaths on July 23, 2,000 on July 9 and 1,000 on June 5.
Health officials continued to stress that people should continue social distancing, wearing masks in public, and stay home when possible.
Gov. Doug Ducey easing more COVID-19 restrictions
Gov. Doug Ducey is easing more COVID-19 restrictions in Arizona as the number of newly reported cases remains low. Team 12's Jen Wahl has the latest.
Arizona to move COVID-19 vaccination site from State Farm Stadium to Gila River Arena
The Arizona Department of Health Services will transition the COVID-19 vaccination site in the West Valley from State Farm Stadium to Gila River Arena.
The State Farm Stadium site is an outdoor, drive-thru location and the Gila River Arena site will be an indoor location.
The Gila River Arena COVID-19 vaccination site will open on April 23. It will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day. It will have the capacity to administer 1,000 shots per hour.
The State Farm Stadium site will move to nighttime hours starting Monday to avoid heat and will stop all operations on the morning of April 23.
The State Farm Stadium site is currently the state's largest vaccination site and has been described as a “national model” by President Joe Biden.
“Arizona is so thankful to the Arizona Cardinals, Michael Bidwill and the Bidwill family, and all of the partners who stepped up to help make our first state-run vaccination site a national success,” Ducey said in a statement.
“This is a true team effort, and the mission to get Arizonans vaccinated continues with this new location.”
“This site will continue to be a national model for mass vaccination as we shift outdoor operations to indoor locations," Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said in a statement.
"Gila River Arena and city of Glendale, in partnership with ADHS and the Arizona Cardinals, are making it possible to continue vaccinating while the Glendale operation gets closer to administering 1 million doses.”
Anyone who wants to register for a vaccine at this new site can go online at podvaccine.azdhs.gov or call 844-542-8201 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Both resources offer assistance in English and Spanish.
Pima County to expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility on Monday
Pima County officials announced they would expand COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to anyone 16 and older starting Monday.
The county said people could register at county-supported sites opening at 8 a.m.
The announcement means Arizona and Maricopa and Pima counties are all allowing anyone 16 and older to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
"We have made great progress in vaccinating those groups and are continuing our efforts to ensure that vulnerable and at-risk populations have access to the vaccine as well," said Dr. Theresa Cullen, the Pima County Health Department Director.
"With vaccine availability increasing in the county, it's the right time to expand and have the same eligibility requirements no matter where you want to get your shot."
Pima County is supporting three vaccination sites at Banner-South Kino Stadium, Tucson Medical Center and the Tucson Convention Center.
The county will add a smaller Point of Distribution at El Pueblo Center starting Monday. It will be a walk-in POD with on-site registration. On-site registration also is available at the Tucson Convention Center.
Here is more information about COVID-19 vaccines in Pima County. You can also call the Pima County Health Department’s registration support line at 520-222-0119.
Mesa center to serve as Arizona's first indoor drive-in COVID-19 vaccination site
A distribution center in Mesa is going to serve as the first state-run indoor drive-thru COVID-19 vaccination site, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
The site will help streamline vaccine distribution in Arizona during the hot summer months.
The site, located at a distribution center operated by Dexcom on Ray Road near the Loop 202 Santan Freeway and Power Road, is set to open April 15 and will replace the outdoor site currently operating at Chandler-Gilbert Community College.
Those who received first doses at the Chandler-Gilbert facility on March 14 and after have been scheduled for their second doses at the Dexcom site.
Arizona governor eases some restrictions as virus cases wane
Gov. Doug Ducey on Thursday eased restrictions on elective surgeries and long-term care facilities.
With vaccination efforts underway, Ducey said Arizona is able to roll back some limitations.
His order Thursday provides hospitals with the flexibility to conduct elective surgeries.
He said the state can now also help facilitate additional visitation as well as off-site visits for long-term care residents without the need for quarantine upon return.
Arizona on Thursday reported the number of people who have received at least one dose of vaccine passed 30% of the state’s population.
The number of COVID-19 cases is declining around Arizona.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
Navajo Nation reports 5 more COVID-19 cases, 5 more deaths
The Navajo Nation on Thursday reported five new COVID-19 cases and five deaths.
The tribe had reported no deaths in three of the previous four days and six of the last 11 days overall.
Tribal health officials said the latest figures bring the total number of cases since the pandemic started to 30,108 with the known death toll at 1,252.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher than reported because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
The Navajo Nation covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
Here is the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines in Arizona
The Arizona Department of Health Services said more than 3.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered as of Friday.
Who can get a COVID-19 vaccine?
The state and Maricopa County has expanded vaccine eligibility to Arizonans 16 and older. Other counties are offering vaccines to people in Phase 1B. Gila County has extended vaccines to some people in Phase 1C and Mohave County opened vaccines to all adults. Learn more about the phases here.
How can I sign up for a COVID-19 vaccine?
You can sign up for a vaccine through the state here or find more information about finding up through the counties here.
Where can I get a COVID-19 vaccine?
There are four locations where the state is administering vaccines: State Farm Stadium, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Chandler-Gilbert Community College and University of Arizona's Tucson campus. All other locations are run through the individual counties or federal programs.
Where can I find more information on a COVID-19 vaccine?
You can find more vaccine information at 12News.com/Vaccine.
COVID-19 data dashboard now includes vaccine information
The Arizona Department of Health Services updated its COVID-19 data dashboard to include information including vaccination numbers and demographic data.
The new information can be found on the dashboard in the tab right next to the summary tab where daily coronavirus cases, deaths, and testing numbers are updated.
You can see the updated dashboard here.
Arizona health department sets up hotline to report businesses
The Arizona Department of Health Services has set up two ways for people to report local businesses that are not following COVID-19 guidelines.
People can report businesses through a hotline or through an online form:
- Submit a complaint online at www.azhealth.gov/complianceCOVID19
- Calling the COVID-19 Compliance Hotline at 1-844-410-2157
“There’s a role for the public as well: If you believe a business isn’t following these requirements, which were established for the safety of customers, employees, and the broader public, ADHS encourages you to share your concerns so local and state officials can follow up as needed,” AZDHS said in a statement.
Free masks available for some Arizonans
The Arizona Department of Health Services announced that some Arizonans would be able to get free masks from the state.
The department partnered with Hanes to provide free face masks to Arizona’s most vulnerable populations.
Anyone who is part of a vulnerable population (including, but not limited to, individuals with medical conditions or individuals age 65 or older), a student (or parents on behalf of students), school staff member or who may not be able to purchase one is able to get a free mask.
Each other will provide five washable, reusable cloth face masks, one order per household.
The department hopes to give out two million cloth face masks.
Anyone with questions can visit the department's FAQs page or contact Hanes at 1-800-503-6698.
Arizona releases ZIP code locations of coronavirus cases, other data
The Arizona Department of Health Services has released expanded data points regarding coronavirus cases in the state.
The AZDHS website now features the location of confirmed cases in Arizona by zip code.
You can see the current ZIP code map here and can find yours by clicking around or searching for your ZIP code in the top right of the map.
More information on coronavirus cases from Friday
There have been 843,132 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 16,989 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That's an increase from the 842,192 confirmed cases and 16,977 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Thursday.
There were 940 new cases reported on Friday, an increase from the 381 new cases reported on Thursday.
There were 12 new deaths reported on Friday, an increase from the 10 new deaths reported on Thursday.
There were 12,427 cases reported on the collection date of Jan. 4, the day with the most collected diagnoses so far. The day with the second-most collected diagnoses so far was on Jan. 5, with 11,766 cases. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the day with the highest number of deaths was Jan. 18, when 177 people died. The day with the second-highest number of deaths was Jan. 13, when 173 people died. That is subject to change.
In total, 30,785 new diagnostic tests were reported on Friday, an increase from the 25,135 new tests reported on Thursday.
There have been a total of 8,589,826 diagnostic tests reported to the state as of Friday.
10.8% of those tests have been positive as of Friday, the same since Tuesday.
Here's a breakdown of the number of cases reported in each county:
- Maricopa: 525,002
- Pima: 112,846
- Pinal: 49,651
- Coconino: 17,114
- Navajo: 15,734
- Apache: 11,121
- Mohave: 22,168
- La Paz: 2,446
- Yuma: 36,776
- Graham: 5,367
- Cochise: 11,629
- Santa Cruz: 7,829
- Yavapai: 18,327
- Gila: 6,558
- Greenlee: 564
Click on the links below to find more information from each county's health department:
COVID-19 is believed to be primarily spread through coughs or sneezes.
It may be possible for the virus to spread by touching a surface or object with the virus and then a person touching their mouth, nose or eyes, but this is not thought to be the main method of spread, the CDC says.
You should consult your doctor if you traveled to an area currently affected by COVID-19 and feel sick with fever, cough or difficulty breathing.
The best way to prevent COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases is to:
- Wear face coverings while in public.
- Practice social distancing while in public.
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect frequently-touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
You can text FACTS to 602-444-1212 to receive more information on the coronavirus and to ask questions.
Coronavirus facts you should know
For the latest news about COVID-19, including doctor responses to questions about the coronavirus, watch our 12 News YouTube Playlist here.