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 Wednesday, April 21.
Major updates:
- There have been 855,804 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 17,199 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona as of Wednesday.
- There have been 4,589,516 total vaccines administered as of Wednesday.
- 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 Wednesday
There have been 855,804 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 17,199 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state health department data.
That's an increase from the 855,155 confirmed cases and 17,193 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Tuesday.
A week ago, there were 851,265 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 17,109 deaths reported in Arizona.
VERSION EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 21 de abril: 649 nuevos casos, 6 muertes se reportan el miércoles
649 new cases, 6 new deaths reported Wednesday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 649 new cases and six new deaths on Wednesday.
Arizona has administered 4,589,516 total vaccines COVID-19 vaccine doses as of Wednesday.
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 12,435 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 11,756 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.
Big Tucson vaccine site plans halted, mobile sites sought
A plan to establish a large federally supported mass vaccination in metro Tucson is being shelved and Pima County instead is now asking for mobile vaccination sites.
Officials said Tuesday that weeks of discussions didn't produce agreement on details for establishing and running the proposed vaccination site.
It would have been operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and could have vaccinated up to 6,000 people daily.
Officials said the county is pivoting to ask the agency for mobile sites capable of providing about 300 shots daily to reach populations that could use help getting vaccinated.
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.
Navajo Nation: No COVID-related deaths for 10th day in a row
The Navajo Nation on Tuesday reported finding no new COVID-19 related deaths for the 10th consecutive day.
The tribe reported nine new confirmed coronavirus cases, but no additional deaths on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The latest numbers bring the Navajo Nation’s pandemic case total to 30,380 with the death toll remaining at 1,262.
Tribal health officials say more than 16,500 people have recovered from COVID-19 thus far.
The tribe had been easing into reopening but that slowed somewhat after coronavirus variants were confirmed on the reservation.
Tribal officials urged residents to stay vigilant.
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 Wednesday.
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 Wednesday
There have been 855,804 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 17,199 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That's an increase from the 855,155 confirmed cases and 17,193 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Tuesday.
There were 649 new coronavirus cases reported on Wednesday, a decrease from the 702 new cases reported on Tuesday.
There were six new coronavirus-related deaths reported on Wednesday, a decrease from the 40 new deaths reported on Tuesday.
There were 12,435 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 11,756 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, 19,175 new diagnostic tests were reported on Wednesday, an increase from the 12,113 new tests reported on Tuesday.
There have been a total of 8,978,311 diagnostic tests reported to the state as of Wednesday.
10.5% of those tests have been positive as of Wednesday, the same since Saturday.
Here's a breakdown of the number of cases reported in each county:
- Maricopa: 532,522
- Pima: 114,438
- Pinal: 50,765
- Coconino: 17,543
- Navajo: 16,066
- Apache: 11,276
- Mohave: 22,474
- La Paz: 2,452
- Yuma: 36,997
- Graham: 5,536
- Cochise: 11,841
- Santa Cruz: 7,904
- Yavapai: 18,558
- Gila: 6,863
- Greenlee: 569
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.