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 Monday, Nov. 2.
Major updates:
- There have been 248,139 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,982 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona as of Monday.
- 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 Monday
There have been 248,139 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,982 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state's latest numbers.
That's an increase from the 247,473 confirmed cases and 5,981 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Sunday.
A week ago, there were 238,964 cases and 5,875 deaths reported in Arizona.
LEER EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 2 de noviembre: 666 casos nuevos y 1 deceso se reportan el lunes
666 new cases, 1 new death reported Monday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 666 new cases and one new death on Monday.
The statistics reported on Monday are typically lower compared to other days of the week.
Arizona reached 200,000 coronavirus cases on Aug. 27, 100,000 on July 6 and 50,000 cases on June 21. The state reached 5,000 coronavirus deaths 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 1.16 on Saturday.
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.
RELATED: This is the number that health officials are watching closely in the fight against COVID-19 (And you should too)
There were 5,454 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 17, when 102 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.
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UArizona planning to bring students back to campus in spring
University of Arizona officials said Monday that they are planning to bring students back to campus in the spring.
"Preparations are now critical for us to have the option of continuing in-person instruction in the spring semester," University President Robert Robbins said in a statement.
"We can only do so if public health conditions permit us to."
Robbins said university officials and students "know how to mitigate the spread of this virus.
"We have done so in the classroom, in our research lab and office spaces of the campus so far this semester, and I know we can do the same both on and off campus if everyone follows the rules."
Between Oct. 23 and Nov. 1, the university saw 79 positives out of 7,122 tests.
Woman describes brother's final days battling COVID-19
Anamaria Stephenson said her brother, John Pastore, was among the 5,900-plus Arizonans who have died from COVID-19 so far.
“His lungs had collapsed," Stephenson said.
"He was bleeding internally; he had tubes coming out everywhere. No one wants to see their family member go through that."
Pastore began experiencing symptoms shortly after arriving in California for a family vacation, she said.
He immediately self-quarantined and traveled back to Phoenix, where he would call his primary care doctor.
“He first told him: ‘I think you have COVID.’ And the earliest he could provide testing was nearly a week later,” Stephenson said.
According to Stephenson, testing locations did not have availability. In the meantime, Pastore's condition worsened significantly and he was taken to the hospital.
“He was solely on the ventilator, never without it,” Stephenson said. “So we never got to see him or talk to him. It was heartbreaking.”
Pastore, who also had diabetes and sleep apnea, died on July 27. He was 46.
His death serves as an important reminder to stay vigilant as Arizona faces another wave of COVID-19 cases.
Gov. Doug Ducey said last week, "We know that there is a storm ahead of us; yet, it is not here."
Dr. Cara Christ, the state’s top doctor said, "Statewide metrics still meet the benchmarks for the moderate category of COVID-19 spread for businesses and school opening. We are seeing the rates and the percent positivity increase in many counties across all regions in this state."
As for Anamaria’s message, “It’s gonna get better, but not if we continue not taking it seriously.”
Team 12's Matt Yurus contributed to the above article.
Mesa High School going to 2-day in-person weeks
The rise of coronavirus rates in Arizona is forcing more students to go back to online learning.
Mesa High School said students will go from five days of in-person learning down to two days.
The principal of the school said in a letter that the change is due to "active positive cases within our school community and public health data for our area."
The change will begin Monday and last until at least Nov. 13.
2 Arizona Cardinals reportedly test positive for COVID-19
Two Arizona Cardinals reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.
The players' identities and status were not immediately known. The team's facilities were closed Sunday for deep cleaning.
Navajo Nation reports 73 new cases, no new deaths
The Navajo Department of Health reported 73 new COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and no recent deaths.
The total number of positive COVID-19 cases is now 11,828, including two additional delayed reported cases.
The total number of deaths remains 581 as previously reported on Saturday.
Reports indicate that 7,546 individuals have recovered from COVID-19, and 125,851 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.
RELATED: Arizona’s health department wants you to report businesses that don’t enforce safety requirements
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 Monday
There have been 248,139 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,982 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That's an increase from the 247,473 confirmed cases and 5,981 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Sunday.
There were 666 new cases reported on Monday, a decrease from the 1,527 reported on Sunday.
There was one new death reported on Monday, a decrease from the two reported on Sunday.
There were 5,452 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 17, when 102 people died. That is subject to change.
In total, 7,570 new tests were reported on Monday, a decrease from the 14,896 new tests reported on Sunday.
There have been a total of 2,113,554 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Monday.
9.7% of those tests have been positive as of Monday, the same since last Monday.
Here's a breakdown of the number of cases in each county:
- Maricopa: 160,184
- Pima: 28,914
- Pinal: 12,210
- Coconino: 5,429
- Navajo: 6,545
- Apache: 4,006
- Mohave: 4,453
- La Paz: 628
- Yuma: 14,041
- Graham: 1,283
- Cochise: 2,205
- Santa Cruz: 3,066
- Yavapai: 3,079
- Gila: 1,992
- Greenlee: 104
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.
