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 Tuesday, April 20.
Major updates:
- There have been 855,155 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 17,193 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona as of Tuesday.
- There have been 4,539,871 total vaccines administered as of Tuesday.
- 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
COVID-19 cases reported in Arizona on Tuesday
There have been 855,155 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 17,193 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state health department data.
That's an increase from the 854,453 confirmed cases and 17,153 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Monday.
A week ago, there were 850,846 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 17,105 deaths reported in Arizona.
VERSION EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 20 de abril: 702 nuevos casos, 40 muertes se reportan el martes
702 new cases, 40 new deaths reported Tuesday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 702 new cases and 40 new deaths on Tuesday.
The department did not give an explanation for the high case and death counts reported Tuesday.
Patient hospitalizations for the virus across the state continue a nearly month-long range of hovering between 500 and 600.
There were 562 people hospitalized for suspected or confirmed virus cases on Monday, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Arizona has administered 4,539,871 total vaccines COVID-19 vaccine doses as of Tuesday.
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 12,433 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 11,758 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 172 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 17,000 coronavirus deaths on April 7, 16,000 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.
Arizona governor orders 'vaccine passport' ban for the state
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has used his executive powers to prohibit all of the state's local and regional governments from requiring "vaccine passports," calling them an encroachment on the private medical information of Arizona residents.
The Republican governor signed an executive order Monday that also bans state agencies and companies that contract with the state from making COVID-19 vaccine documentation a requirement for such things as entering businesses and receive services.
Businesses on their own along with health care providers, child care facilities, schools and universities are exempted from the ban.
Meanwhile, Arizona officials on Monday reported 692 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and no new deaths.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
Arizona to open new state-run COVID-19 vaccination site at Scottsdale's WestWorld
Gov. Doug Ducey and the Arizona Department of Health Services announced the state will be opening a COVID-19 vaccination site at WestWorld in Scottsdale.
The indoor site is expected to open on April 22 and offer 3,000-4,000 appointments daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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.
Agency reports Navajo Nation's first Hantavirus case of 2021
Health officials are reporting the Navajo Nation's first case this year of of Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by infected rodent droppings.
The tribal health department said the case was confirmed in McKinley County in northwestern New Mexico but it wasn’t known how the person contracted Hantavirus.
Hantavirus typically is reported in spring and summer, often due to exposures that occur when people are near mouse droppings in homes, sheds or poorly ventilated areas.
Recommended precautions to limit the spread of Hantavirus include ventilating and cleaning areas where they might be mouse droppings.
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 4.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered as of Tuesday.
Who can get a COVID-19 vaccine?
The state and Maricopa and Pima counties have 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 six locations where the state is administering vaccines: State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Dexcom in Mesa, University of Arizona's Tucson campus, Northern Arizona University's Union Fieldhouse and Yuma Civic Center in Yuma. 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 Tuesday
There have been 855,155 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 17,193 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That's an increase from the 854,453 confirmed cases and 17,153 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Monday.
There were 702 new coronavirus cases reported on Tuesday, an increase from the 692 new cases reported on Monday.
There were 40 new coronavirus-related deaths reported on Tuesday, an increase from the zero new deaths reported on Monday.
There were 12,433 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 11,758 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 172 people died. That is subject to change.
In total, 12,113 new diagnostic tests were reported on Tuesday, a decrease from the 14,952 new tests reported on Monday.
There have been a total of 8,959,119 diagnostic tests reported to the state as of Tuesday.
10.5% of those tests have been positive as of Tuesday, the same since Saturday.
Here's a breakdown of the number of cases reported in each county:
- Maricopa: 532,133
- Pima: 114,345
- Pinal: 50,697
- Coconino: 17,514
- Navajo: 16,060
- Apache: 11,274
- Mohave: 22,454
- La Paz: 2,452
- Yuma: 36,991
- Graham: 5,535
- Cochise: 11,832
- Santa Cruz: 7,898
- Yavapai: 18,541
- Gila: 6,861
- Greenlee: 568
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
See videos featuring the latest news about COVID-19, including doctor responses to questions about the coronavirus on our 12 News YouTube page here.