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 Wednesday, Feb. 24.
Major updates:
- There have been 811,968 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 15,693 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona as of Wednesday.
- There have been 1,552,911 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.
- Arizona to open another state-run COVID-19 vaccination site
COVID-19 cases reported in Arizona on Wednesday
There have been 811,968 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 15,693 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state's latest numbers.
That's a change from the 810,658 confirmed cases and 15,650 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Tuesday.
A week ago, there were 801,055 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 15,063 deaths reported in Arizona.
LEER EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 24 de febrero: 1,310 nuevos casos, 43 muerte se reportan el miércoles
1,310 new cases, 43 new deaths reported Wednesday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 1,310 new cases and 43 new deaths on Wednesday.
The department did not say whether the high death count reported Wednesday was due to death certificate matching.
Arizona has administered 1,552,911 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 are 215 hospitalizations per 1 million in Arizona as of Tuesday, down from 226 on Monday, according to The COVID Tracking Project. You can find more data from the project here.
There were 12,180 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 Dec. 28, with 11,647 cases. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the day with the highest number of deaths was Jan. 18, when 167 people died. The day with the second-highest number of deaths was Jan. 13, when 164 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 15,000 coronavirus deaths 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.
Mohave County receives delayed vaccine shipment
Health officials in Mohave County say they have received its shipment of vaccine doses due to arrive last week along with this week's scheduled delivery.
Severe snowstorms that blanketed large swathes of the country delayed transportation of the vaccine. Thousands of Arizonans who were scheduled to receive the vaccine had to have their appointments postponed.
At least in Mohave County, residents are asked to make a new appointment.
The delayed shipment affected Moderna's vaccine while ADHS said the state had enough doses of Pfizer's shot to meet the exceptionally high demand for the COVID-19 shot.
Arizona medical expert answers your COVID-19 questions
Dr. Frank LoVecchio with Valleywise Health Medical Center is answering your questions about COVID-19.
You can find all the past question-and-answer segments at 12News.com/YouTube.
CVS to begin offering COVID-19 vaccines at some Arizona locations
CVS Health will start offering COVID-19 vaccines at eight pharmacies in Arizona through the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program beginning Thursday.
People ages 65 and over, health care workers, protective services, teachers and childcare providers will be eligible to get the vaccine.
CVS did not identify which locations would get the vaccine "to prevent stores from being overwhelmed by those who may seek a vaccination without making an appointment."
Participating locations are in the following Arizona counties: Maricopa, Mohave, Pima, Pinal and Yuma.
Anyone looking for an appointment can register at CVS.com or call (800) 746-7287.
UArizona provides Pima County with 1,000 additional vaccine doses
The University of Arizona provided Pima County with 1,000 additional vaccine doses that were originally allocated to the UA vaccination site.
The doses of the Moderna vaccine will be used as part of the county’s efforts to increase vaccination rates in marginalized and high risk communities through their mobile vaccination site program, it was announced Wednesday.
“We are grateful to University of Arizona President Robert Robbins for sharing this resource with us,” Chuck Huckelberry, Pima County administrator, said in a statement.
“This supply is going to do immediate good in helping us get vaccine into the hardest to reach parts of our community.”
The additional supply will be used to support three upcoming “pop-up” style vaccine sites on the east and south sides of Tucson.
Arizona to open another state-run COVID-19 vaccination site
The Arizona Department of Health Services will open a state-operated COVID-19 vaccination site at the Chandler-Gilbert Community College in the East Valley.
It will begin operating as a state-run location on March 3. Appointments for first and second doses will open for registration at 9 a.m. March 1.
“We’re committed to making the COVID-19 vaccine accessible to all Arizonans. Keeping this successful vaccination site open and operating is an important step,” Gov. Doug Ducey said in a statement.
“Arizona has called on the federal government to provide our state with more vaccine doses. As more supply becomes available, we’ll be ready to administer the vaccine and protect Arizonans.”
The vaccination site at Chandler-Gilbert Community College used to be run by Maricopa County, which announced it would be closed next week.
The department said it has worked with partner organizations to develop a plan to keep the location open.
Dignity Health, which currently manages the site with Maricopa County, will close its operations after Feb. 27, and the department will reopen it four days later.
At full capacity, the department said the site will have a similar capacity to State Farm Stadium at 12,000 vaccines per day and can be operated 24/7.
Due to the limited amount of vaccine allocated to the state, this site will initially operate from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will continue to provide the Pfizer vaccine.
You can make an appointment here.
Sonora Quest opens 2 drive- or walk-thru COVID-19 testing sites
Sonora Quest Laboratories have opened two drive- or walk-thru COVID-19 diagnostic testing sites at churches in the Valley.
The testing sites are located at Crossroads United Methodist Church in Phoenix and St. Matthew’s United Methodist Church in Mesa. The locations opened on Feb. 17.
The tests will be free for anyone who does not have an order from their health care provider and believes they have been exposed to COVID-19 and/or is currently exhibiting symptoms.
There will be a $115 fee for people who do not have any COVID-19 symptoms and/or recent exposure.
Appointments are required and will be offered from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Anyone who needs one can make one here.
Sonora Quest partnered with Valley Interfaith Project, a non-partisan organization made of congregations, schools, unions and nonprofits, to open these sites.
Navajo Nation reports 20 new cases, 7 more deaths
The Navajo Department of Health reported 20 new COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and seven more deaths on Tuesday.
The total number of positive COVID-19 cases is now 29,576, including five delayed reported cases.
The total number of deaths is now 1,152 as of Tuesday.
Reports indicate that 16,009 individuals have recovered from COVID-19, and 242,933 COVID-19 tests have been administered.
Here is the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines in Arizona
The Arizona Department of Health Services said more than 1.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered as of Wednesday.
Who can get a COVID-19 vaccine?
The state and each county is offering vaccines to people in Phase 1B. Gila County has extended vaccines to some people in Phase 1C. 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 four locations where the state is administering vaccines: State Farm Stadium, Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Chandler-Gilbert Community College and University of Arizona's Tucson campus. 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 811,968 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 15,693 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That's a change from the 810,658 confirmed cases and 15,650 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Tuesday.
There were 1,310 new cases reported on Wednesday, an increase from the 1,184 new cases reported on Tuesday.
There were 43 new deaths reported on Wednesday, a decrease from the 148 new deaths reported on Tuesday.
There were 12,180 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 Dec. 28, with 11,647 cases. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the day with the highest number of deaths was Jan. 18, when 167 people died. The day with the second-highest number of deaths was Jan. 13, when 164 people died. That is subject to change.
In total, 8,614 new tests were reported on Wednesday, an increase from the 6,504 new tests reported on Tuesday.
There have been a total of 4,153,069 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Wednesday.
14.2% of those tests have been positive as of Wednesday, the same since Friday.
Here's a breakdown of the number of cases reported in each county:
- Maricopa: 507,480
- Pima: 108,772
- Pinal: 45,865
- Coconino: 16,360
- Navajo: 15,513
- Apache: 10,357
- Mohave: 20,992
- La Paz: 2,383
- Yuma: 36,356
- Graham: 5,280
- Cochise: 11,100
- Santa Cruz: 7,611
- Yavapai: 16,975
- Gila: 6,366
- Greenlee: 557
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.
