PHOENIX — In an effort to track the changes with the coronavirus outbreak in Arizona, 12 News has started a daily live blog.
Here is the live blog for Friday, Aug. 14.
Major updates:
- There have been 191,721 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 4,423 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona 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.
- Scroll down to see how many cases are in each ZIP code and additional information.
COVID-19 cases reported in Arizona on Friday
There have been 191,721 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 4,423 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state's latest numbers.
That is an increase from 190,794 cases and 4,383 coronavirus-related deaths reported as of Thursday.
A week ago, there were 185,053 cases and 4,081 deaths reported in Arizona.
LEER EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 14 de agosto: Más de 920 casos nuevos y 40 muertes se reportan el viernes
928 new cases, 40 new deaths reported Friday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 928 new cases and 40 new deaths on Friday.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases topped 191,000 on Friday. The state's total death toll also topped 4,400.
Arizona reached 100,000 coronavirus cases on July 6 and 50,000 cases on June 21. The state reached 3,000 coronavirus deaths on July 23, 2,000 deaths on July 9 and 1,000 on June 5.
Arizona's Rt, pronounced r-naught, was at 0.81 as of Friday, the lowest in the nation.
The Rt is essentially a mathematical number that shows whether more people are becoming infected or less.
The concern is that any Rt over 1, no matter how small, means the virus may grow exponentially.
There were 5,482 cases reported on the collection date of June 29, the day with the most collected diagnoses so far. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the day with the highest number of reported deaths was July 17, when 94 people died. That is subject to change.
Health officials continued to stress that people should continue social distancing, wearing masks in public and stay home when possible.
Benchmark data for potential school reopenings released
Maricopa County has made the benchmark data recommended by the state to decide is schools should reopen classrooms.
Local school districts will be guided to reopen by the number of coronavirus cases in their county per capita, the percent of positive cases from testing and the percentage of people hospitalized with COVID-like illnesses.
AZDHS released the plan last week as Gov. Doug Ducey's order to keep classrooms closed expires on Monday. After that, school districts can decide when to open, but Arizona Superintended Kathy Hoffman highly recommends schools follow the state guidelines.
No county in Arizona meets the state's recommendations to reopen schools.
Even still, the Queen Creek School District approved a plan to reopen campuses on Monday, August 17 in a move that's fueled pushback from teachers.
You can see the data on the Maricopa County website.
Ducey says jobless Arizonans will get $300-a-week boost in benefits after Trump action
Gov. Ducey announced a plan to give jobless Arizonans a $300-a-week boost Friday. Arizona's unemployment benefits are the second-lowest in the nation at $240.
The CARES Acted provided an additional $600 per week benefit, but it expired late last month.
Now the maximum weekly check is $540 per week through Dec. 6, or until FEMA money runs out.
Ducey backs schools reopening despite not meeting benchmarks
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey says he is supportive of school districts that have decided to fully reopen for in-person instruction even though their counties don’t meet the guidelines for controlling coronavirus spread that his own health director designed.
Ducey defended the actions of the districts that decided to reopen, saying decisions were being made at the local level and that the state is near meeting the benchmarks, even if not there yet.
He spoke at a media briefing Thursday after visiting state Health Services Department officials.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
24/7 testing site opens in Tolleson
Navajo Nation officials urge online learning for fall semester
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer are urging all schools on the Navajo Nation to use online learning for the rest of the current semester.
Schools are currently closed until Sept. 16.
State and education officials in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah have also acknowledged the Navajo Nation’s sovereign authority to impose online learning.
Navajo Nation cases grow by 38, one more death
Navajo Nation health officials have reported 38 more cases of COVID-19 and one additional death.
That brings the total number of people infected to 9,394 and the known death toll to 478 as of Thursday.
Navajo Department of Health officials say 87,402 people have been tested for the coronavirus and 6,9242 have recovered.
Tribal President Jonathan Nez pointed to the latest coronavirus figures as evidence that most Navajo Nation residents are complying with lockdown orders and the advice of medical experts.
The tribe has a work group determining a plan to gradually reopen the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
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) 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 191,721 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 4,423 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That is an increase from 190,794 cases and 4,383 coronavirus-related deaths reported as of Thursday.
There were 928 new cases reported on Friday, a decrease from the 1,351 new cases reported on Thursday.
There were 40 new deaths reported on Friday, an increase from the 36 new deaths reported on Thursday.
There were 5,482 cases reported on the collection date of June 29, the day with the most collected diagnoses so far. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the day with the highest number of reported deaths was July 17, when 94 people died. That is subject to change.
In total, 11,242 new tests were reported on Friday, a decrease from the 18,784 new tests reported on Thursday.
There have been a total of 1,314,812 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Friday.
12.2% of those tests have been positive as of Friday, the same as Thursday.
Here's a county breakdown:
- Maricopa: 128,352
- Pima: 19,164
- Pinal: 8,665
- Coconino: 3,149
- Navajo: 5,446
- Apache: 3,221
- Mohave: 3,294
- La Paz: 489
- Yuma: 11,766
- Graham: 584
- Cochise: 1,751
- Santa Cruz: 2,696
- Yavapai: 2,105
- Gila: 982
- Greenlee: 57
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.
There is no vaccine for the coronavirus, so 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.
