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 Tuesday, Aug. 25.
Major updates:
- There have been 199,273 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 4,792 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona 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.
- 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 199,273 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 4,792 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state's latest numbers.
That is an increase from 198,414 cases and 4,771 coronavirus-related deaths reported as of Monday.
A week ago, there were 194,920 cases and 4,529 deaths reported in Arizona.
LEER EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 25 de agosto: 859 casos nuevos y 21 decesos se reportan el martes
859 new cases, 21 new deaths reported Tuesday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 859 new cases and 21 new deaths on Tuesday.
The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases topped 199,000 on Monday. The state's total death toll also neared 4,800 on Monday.
Arizona reached 100,000 coronavirus cases on July 6 and 50,000 cases on June 21. The state reached 4,000 coronavirus deaths on Aug. 6, 3,000 deaths on July 23, 2,000 on July 9 and 1,000 on June 5.
Arizona's Rt, pronounced r-naught, was at 0.75 as of Monday, 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 5,488 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 95 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.
Arizona issues order to require schools to report COVID-19 outbreaks
The Arizona Department of Health Services issued an emergency measure on Monday requiring schools, child care centers and shelters to report outbreaks of COVID-19 to their local health departments.
The measure applies to public schools, charter schools and private schools with students from kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as child care establishments and shelters.
They must report the outbreaks to their local public health department within 24 hours of identifying it.
Navajo Nation reports one recent death
The Navajo Department of Health reported 10 new COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and one more death.
The total number of COVID-19 positive cases is 9,5467.
The total number of deaths is now 494 as of Monday.
Reports indicate that 7,063 individuals have recovered from COVID-19.
92,358 COVID-19 tests have been administered.
COVID-19 is ‘a crisis within a crisis’ for homeless people
Homeless people are among the most vulnerable populations in the COVID-19 pandemic, yet they’re largely invisible victims.
Very little is known about how they’re faring.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees homeless programs, has not required its national network of providers to gather infection or death data, even though homeless people, unlike other high-risk groups such as nursing home residents, interact more with the public.
The administration’s homelessness czar told Congress in July there had been just 130 homeless deaths.
The Howard Center for Investigative Journalism tracked at least 206 nationwide by early August.
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 Tuesday
There have been 199,273 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 4,792 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That is an increase from 198,414 cases and 4,771 coronavirus-related deaths reported as of Monday.
There were 859 new cases reported on Tuesday, an increase from the 311 new cases reported on Monday.
There were 21 new deaths reported on Tuesday, an increase from the zero new deaths reported on Monday.
There were 5,488 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 95 people died. That is subject to change.
In total, 5,451 new tests were reported on Tuesday, a decrease from the 7,552 new tests reported on Monday.
There have been a total of 1,421,819 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Tuesday.
11.7% of those tests have been positive as of Tuesday, down from 11.8% on Monday.
Here's a county breakdown:
- Maricopa: 132,290
- Pima: 20,919
- Pinal: 9,231
- Coconino: 3,264
- Navajo: 5,523
- Apache: 3,309
- Mohave: 3,534
- La Paz: 496
- Yuma: 12,085
- Graham: 694
- Cochise: 1,798
- Santa Cruz: 2,728
- Yavapai: 2,259
- Gila: 1,083
- Greenlee: 58
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.
