The number of coronavirus cases and deaths in Arizona continue to rise.
In an effort to track the changes, 12 News has started a daily live blog.
Here is the live blog for Wednesday, July 29.
Major updates:
- There have been 168,273 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 3,454 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona 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.
- Scroll down to see how many cases are in each ZIP code and additional information.
COVID-19 cases reported in Arizona on Wednesday
There have been 168,273 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Arizona and 3,454 coronavirus-related deaths, according to the state's latest numbers.
That is an increase from 165,934 cases and 3,408 coronavirus-related deaths reported as of Tuesday.
A week ago, there were 150,609 cases and 2,974 deaths reported in Arizona.
More than 2,300 new cases, 46 new deaths reported Wednesday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported more than 2,300 new cases and 46 new deaths on Wednesday.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases topped 168,000 on Wednesday, three weeks after reaching the 100,000 mark.
Arizona reached 50,000 coronavirus cases on June 21.
The state's death toll from COVID-19 reached 3,400 on Tuesday, four days after reaching 3,100. The state reached 2,000 coronavirus deaths on July 9 and 1,000 on June 5.
Arizona's Rt, pronounced r-naught, was at 0.90 on Wednesday, down from 0.91 on Tuesday.
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 5,437 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 7, when 79 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.
Sonora Quest warns of COVID-19 testing scam
Sonora Quest Laboratories warned that scammers were posing on the phone as lab representatives to gain patients’ personal information.
The scammers would claim that they have COVID-19 test results, the company warned.
Sonora Quest said it may return calls to patients regarding accessing their results, but it does not provide COVID-19 results or collect payment over the phone unless initiated by the patient.
Sonora Quest’s normal protocol is to provide results to the ordering physician for them to relay those results to the patient so they can provide next steps for care based on a patient’s full medical history, the company said.
Sonora Quest is also not billing patients for COVID-19 PCR or antibody testing when it is ordered by a physician.
Navajo Nation cases grow by 15, five new deaths
The Navajo Department of Health reported 15 new COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and five more deaths.
The total number of COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation is 8,927.
The total number of deaths has reached 446 as of Tuesday.
Reports indicate that 6,585 individuals have recovered from COVID-19.
78,501 people have been tested for COVID-19.
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 Wednesday
There have been 168,273 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Arizona and 3,454 coronavirus-related deaths.
That is an increase from 165,934 cases and 3,408 coronavirus-related deaths reported as of Tuesday.
There were 2,339 new cases reported on Wednesday, an increase from the 2,017 new cases reported on Tuesday.
There were 46 new deaths reported on Wednesday, a decrease from the 104 new deaths reported on Tuesday.
There were 5,437 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 7, when 79 people died. That is subject to change.
In total, 12,880 new tests were reported on Wednesday, a decrease from the 13,143 new tests reported on Tuesday.
There have been a total of 1,125,705 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Wednesday.
12.7% of those tests have been positive, the same as Tuesday.
Here's a county breakdown:
- Maricopa: 113,148
- Pima: 15,601
- Pinal: 7,720
- Coconino: 2,903
- Navajo: 5,130
- Apache: 2,950
- Mohave: 2,828
- La Paz: 466
- Yuma: 10,657
- Graham: 442
- Cochise: 1,442
- Santa Cruz: 2,543
- Yavapai: 1,661
- Gila: 730
- Greenlee: 52
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.
