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 Thursday, Jan. 21.
Major updates:
- There have been 699,942 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 11,772 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona as of Thursday.
- 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 Thursday
There have been 699,942 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 11,772 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state's latest numbers.
That's an increase from the 690,544 confirmed cases and 11,528 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Wednesday.
A week ago, there were 649,040 cases and 10,855 deaths reported in Arizona.
LEER EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 21 de enero: 9,398 nuevos casos, 244 muertes se reportan el jueves
9,398 new cases, 244 new deaths reported Thursday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 9,398 new cases and 244 new deaths on Thursday.
The department did not say whether any of those deaths were from death certificate matching.
There were 4,580 hospitalized COVID-19 patients occupying inpatient beds as of Wednesday, down from the Jan. 11 record of 5,082.
Arizona’s seven-day rolling average of daily new cases declined from 8,884.4 on Jan. 6 to 6,973.6 on Wednesday.
347,013 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Arizona as of Wednesday.
The department said all the vaccine appointments for February are booked at both state-run sites. It was not immediately known when appointments for March would be made available.
Arizona’s cases, deaths and hospitalizations have been 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 600,000 coronavirus cases 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 11,000 coronavirus deaths 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.
Arizona's Rt, pronounced r-naught, was at 1.08 on Tuesday, up from 1.04 on Monday and the No. 3 state in the nation for the highest rate of spread.
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 11,815 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 11,490 cases. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the day with the highest number of deaths was Dec. 17, when 127 people died. The day with the second-most deaths was Jan. 4, when 126 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.
New data shows hope for COVID-19 cases in Arizona
There is hope on the horizon, with new data showing a slight dip in coronavirus cases. Team 12's Trisha Hendricks has the latest.
Hundreds of Mesa educators to get COVID-19 vaccine
Hundreds of educators in the Mesa Public School district are getting their COVID-19 vaccines. Team 12's Jen Wahl has the latest.
Phoenix Unified High School District partners with Tempe Union High School District for educator vaccinations
The PXU and TUHSD have partnered to vaccinate K-12 educators. The partnership hopes to ensure vaccination of thousands of teachers and childcare providers with the help of the Maricopa County Public Health Department.
The vaccine events will take place on Friday Jan. 22 and Saturday Jan. 23, between 9 a.m. to 5p.m. at Carl Hayden Community High School, Central High School, Cesar Chavez High School, and Maryvale High School.
PXU Superintendent Chad Gestson said:
“The Phoenix Union High School District is proud to provide vaccinations to thousands of K‐12 and childcare employees. By expanding access to the vaccine to include all education employees in the PXU and TUHSD boundaries, we will expedite the safe return to full‐time in‐ person instruction for all students. PXU remains committed to returning only when it is safe, reasonable, and responsible to do so, and this is an exciting first step in that process."
TUHSD Superintendent Kevin Mendivil said:
“It makes great sense for us to partner with our friends at Phoenix Union. Being part of the PXU PODs means that our employees and other educators in the Tempe community will receive their first vaccine dose even quicker than we anticipated. We are extremely grateful they extended the offer to our city. This will bring peace of mind not only to our employee base, but also to our families and community at large."
US marks record-high COVID-19 deaths Wednesday
The U.S. hit a record for the most COVID-19 deaths recorded in a single day Wednesday, with more than 4,100 deaths. The previous record was Jan. 7.
Pima County prisoner dies from COVID-19
An inmate in a Pima County jail died after being hospitalized with COVID-19-related complications.
A 47-year-old unidentified inmate at the Pima County Adult Detention Complex tested positive for COVID-19 on Dec. 29.
They were taken to a local hospital for COVID-19 related complications on Jan. 14 and died on Jan. 20.
They had been in custody since January 2020 on charges of Narcotic Drug Possession For Sale, Child Abuse, Aggravated DUI with a Passenger under 15, Drug Paraphernalia Possession and failure to appear arrest warrant for sale of narcotic drugs.
More testing urged in Arizona as new COVID-19 cases persist
Public health experts are warning that more people in Arizona need to get tested as the state remains the worst nationwide for the rate of new COVID-19 cases.
Dr. Joshua LaBaer, director of the Biodesign Institute research center at Arizona State University, said Wednesday that only about 15,000 virus tests are being administered daily.
He says the state should be conducting 80,000 to 100,000 tests a day.
State health officials on Wednesday reported 4,845 additional COVID-19 cases and 262 related deaths.
That brings Arizona’s totals since the pandemic began to 690,544 cases and 11,528 deaths.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
Navajo Nation reports 94 new cases, 11 more deaths
The Navajo Department of Health reported 94 new COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and 11 more deaths on Wednesday.
The total number of positive COVID-19 cases is now 26,612.
The total number of deaths remains 933 as of Wednesday.
Reports indicate that 13,748 individuals have recovered from COVID-19, and 225,099 COVID-19 tests have been administered.
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 Thursday
There have been 699,942 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 11,772 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That's an increase from the 690,544 confirmed cases and 11,528 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Wednesday.
There were 9,398 new cases reported on Thursday, an increase from the 4,845 new cases reported on Wednesday.
There was 244 new deaths reported on Thursday, a decrease from the 262 new deaths reported on Wednesday.
There were 11,815 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 11,490 cases. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the day with the highest number of deaths was Dec. 17, when 127 people died. The day with the second-most deaths was Jan. 4, when 126 people died. That is subject to change.
In total, 33,062 new tests were reported on Thursday, an increase from the 18,037 new tests reported on Wednesday.
There have been a total of 3,695,111 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Thursday.
13.9% of those tests have been positive as of Thursday, up from 13.8% on Wednesday.
Here's a breakdown of the number of cases in each county:
- Maricopa: 434,337
- Pima: 93,839
- Pinal: 38,477
- Coconino: 14,362
- Navajo: 13,703
- Apache: 8,772
- Mohave: 17,586
- La Paz: 2,087
- Yuma: 33,707
- Graham: 4,721
- Cochise: 9,883
- Santa Cruz: 7,149
- Yavapai: 15,248
- Gila: 5,572
- Greenlee: 498
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.
