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, Dec. 15.
Major updates:
- There have been 424,382 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 7,422 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.
- You can find COVID-19 testing sites here.
- 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 424,382 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 7,422 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state's latest numbers.
That's an increase from the 420,248 confirmed cases and 7,358 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Monday.
A week ago, there were 378,157 cases and 6,973 deaths reported in Arizona.
LEER EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 15 de diciembre: 4,134 casos nuevos y 64 decesos se reportan el martes
4,134 new cases, 64 new deaths reported Tuesday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 4,134 new cases and 64 new deaths on Tuesday.
Valleywise Health also said its ICU beds were full on Tuesday. The hospital is still taking ICU patients and caring for them in other areas, but ICU designated units are full.
The beds will constantly be in flux with capacity as patients come in or are discharged out of ICU.
The current COVID-19 surge saw the rolling seven-day averages of additional cases and deaths more than double over the past two weeks.
The rolling average of daily new cases rose from 3,499 on Nov. 30 to 7,772.1 on Monday while the rolling average of daily deaths rose from 25 to 58.3.
The number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations reached 3,702 on Monday, setting another record.
Arizona’s cases, deaths and hospitalizations were already steadily rising before Thanksgiving, when gatherings and travel were expected to further spread the coronavirus.
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.
Arizona reached 400,000 coronavirus cases 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 7,000 coronavirus deaths 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.
Arizona's Rt, pronounced r-naught, was at 1.12 on Sunday, down from 1.7 on Saturday but still among one of the highest 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 7,811 cases reported on the collection date of Nov. 30, the day with the most collected diagnoses so far. The day with the second-most collected diagnoses so far was on Dec. 7, with 7,769 cases. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the day with the highest number of reported deaths was July 17, when 103 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.
Delivery drivers bring first COVID-19 vaccines to Arizona
Team 12's Rachel Cole has the information that you need to know about COVID-19 vaccines now that they have started to arrive in Arizona.
Health officials plan to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to Arizonans
There are now thousands of COVID-19 vaccines in Arizona. Team 12's Jen Wahl has all the information on Maricopa County's distribution plan.
First doses of COVID-19 vaccine arrive in Arizona
Maricopa County Public Health said the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines arrived on Monday.
The vaccines were distributed nationwide on Monday. A nurse in New York City was among the first in the U.S. to get it.
It was not immediately known who exactly would get the first vaccines in Arizona, but they are anticipated to be given out this week.
"The countdown to dispensing is on..." a tweet read.
Arizona’s first doses of coronavirus vaccine are going to the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas before smaller counties and tribes begin receiving shipments.
Maricopa County is expected to get 47,000 doses and Pima County will get 11,000 this week.
Arizona will receive its largest vaccine shipment of the year next week and will spread them across the state.
You can find more vaccine information at 12News.com/Vaccine.
Navajo Nation reports 158 new COVID-19 cases, 2 more deaths
The Navajo Nation began receiving coronavirus vaccine doses on Monday as tribal health officials reported 158 additional COVID-19 cases and two more related deaths.
In all, the tribe has reported 19,766 virus cases resulting in 722 deaths since the pandemic began.
On Monday, Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez and Vice President Myron Lizer visited the Gallup Indian Medical Center as the first vaccine shipment arrived.
The tribe is expecting a total of 3,900 coronavirus vaccine doses to be delivered by Tuesday with about 7,900 more doses arriving next week.
Those vaccines will cover healthcare workers, emergency medical staff, traditional practitioners working in Indian Health Service facilities, and the staff and patients in long-term nursing facilities.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
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 424,382 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 7,422 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That's an increase from the 420,248 confirmed cases and 7,358 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Monday.
There were 4,134 new cases reported on Tuesday, a decrease from the more than 11,000 new cases reported on Monday.
There was 64 new deaths reported on Tuesday, an increase from the one new death reported on Monday.
There were 7,811 cases reported on the collection date of Nov. 30, the day with the most collected diagnoses so far. The day with the second-most collected diagnoses so far was on Dec. 7, with 7,769 cases. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the day with the highest number of reported deaths was July 17, when 103 people died. That is subject to change.
In total, 14,658 new tests were reported on Tuesday, a decrease from the 19,578 new tests reported on Monday.
There have been a total of 2,923,844 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Tuesday.
11.2% of those tests have been positive as of Tuesday, up from 11.1% on Monday.
Here's a breakdown of the number of cases in each county:
- Maricopa: 263,191
- Pima: 54,246
- Pinal: 22,394
- Coconino: 9,418
- Navajo: 9,911
- Apache: 6,580
- Mohave: 8,857
- La Paz: 1,096
- Yuma: 23,206
- Graham: 2,665
- Cochise: 5,387
- Santa Cruz: 5,028
- Yavapai: 8,321
- Gila: 3,733
- Greenlee: 338
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.
