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, Jan. 22.
Major updates:
- There have been 708,041 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 12,001 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.
- 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 Friday
There have been 708,041 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 12,001 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state's latest numbers.
That's an increase from the 699,942 confirmed cases and 11,772 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Thursday.
A week ago, there were 658,186 cases and 11,040 deaths reported in Arizona.
LEER EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 22 de enero: 8,099 nuevos casos, 229 muertes se reportan el viernes
8,099 new cases, 229 new deaths reported Friday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 8,099 new cases and 229 new deaths on Friday.
The department did not say whether any of those deaths were from death certificate matching.
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 700,000 coronavirus cases 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 12,000 coronavirus deaths 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.
Arizona's Rt, pronounced r-naught, was at 1.01 on Wednesday, down from 1.08 on Tuesday but among the few states in the nation with a rate of spread greater than one.
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 11,856 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 11,498 cases. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the days with the highest numbers of deaths were Jan. 4 and 5, when 129 people died each day. 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.
Outbreak at Chaparral High School
A COVID-19 outbreak at Chaparral High School has been reported to the Maricopa County Department of Health, the school said Friday.
Chaparral officials say the infection happened during a sports event last week, but the school didn't give a specific number of students or staff who were infected.
An outbreak is defined as two or more people testing positive in a two-week period who don't live in the same household or were in close contact.
Chaparral has been the site of multiple outbreaks since the pandemic began. Over 200 families were required to quarantine last October during another outbreak.
The school is performing contact tracing and will reach out to anyone who may have been in contact with the people.
Arizonans having trouble getting their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine
Arizona has doled out nearly 350,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, but many people are still waiting for the state to email them about their second dose.
Navajo Nation president joins Today In AZ to talk COVID-19
Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez joined Today In AZ on Friday morning to talk about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Navajo Nation keeps stay-home order, lifts weekend lockdowns
The Navajo Nation has announced it is extending its stay-at-home order with a revised nightly curfew to limit the spread of COVID-19 while lifting weekend lockdowns to allow more vaccination events.
Tribal officials announced late Thursday that the actions in the tribe's latest public health emergency order will take effect Monday and run through at least Feb. 15.
Officials said the daily curfew will run daily from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
The tribe through Thursday reported a total of 26,782 cases and 940 known deaths on the reservation where 75 communities had uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 from Jan. 1 through Jan. 14.
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 Friday
There have been 708,041 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 12,001 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That's an increase from the 699,942 confirmed cases and 11,772 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Thursday.
There were 8,099 new cases reported on Friday, a decrease from the 9,398 new cases reported on Thursday.
There was 229 new deaths reported on Friday, a decrease from the 244 new deaths reported on Thursday.
There were 11,856 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 11,498 cases. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the days with the highest numbers of deaths were Jan. 4 and 5, when 129 people died each day. That is subject to change.
In total, 22,511 new tests were reported on Friday, a decrease from the 33,062 new tests reported on Thursday.
There have been a total of 3,717,627 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Friday.
14% of those tests have been positive as of Friday, up from 13.9% on Thursday.
Here's a breakdown of the number of cases in each county:
- Maricopa: 439,743
- Pima: 94,697
- Pinal: 39,091
- Coconino: 14,512
- Navajo: 13,791
- Apache: 8,837
- Mohave: 17,872
- La Paz: 2,100
- Yuma: 33,872
- Graham: 4,754
- Cochise: 10,014
- Santa Cruz: 7,197
- Yavapai: 15,419
- Gila: 5,641
- Greenlee: 500
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.
