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. 23.
Major updates:
- There have been 302,324 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 6,464 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.
- Four mayors call on Gov. Doug Ducey to institute a statewide mask requirement.
RELATED: Arizona's total ICU bed occupancy at 90%: Graphs show how COVID-19 increased over last 7 weeks
COVID-19 cases reported in Arizona on Monday
There have been 302,324 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 6,464 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state's latest numbers.
That's an increase from the 299,665 confirmed cases and 6,464 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Sunday.
A week ago, there were 276,912 cases and 6,302 deaths reported in Arizona.
Ducey expects vaccine in Arizona by December
Gov. Doug Ducey says a COVID-19 vaccine may be in Arizona as soon as next month.
Ducey announced a partnership with health leaders and private companies to roll out the vaccine for distribution as soon as it's approved by the FDA.
"We’ve enrolled hundreds of providers who are ready to administer the vaccine, and we expect doses on the ground in mid to late December," he claimed.
Three companies - Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca - recently announced promising results during their vaccine trials.
A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee is set to meet Dec. 10 to discuss Pfizer Inc.'s request for an emergency use authorization for its developing COVID-19 vaccine.
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech recently announced that the vaccine appears 95% effective at preventing mild to severe COVID-19 disease in a large, ongoing study.
Dr. Moncef Slaoui, head of the Operation Warp Speed, the coronavirus vaccine program, says plans are to ship vaccines to states within 24 hours of expected FDA approval.
Pima County Health Department calls for voluntary curfew
Pima County Health Director Dr. Theresa Cullen told UArizona leaders Monday that COVID-19 cases are growing at their highest rate since the pandemic began in March.
Cullen says more action needs to be taken to slow the rate of infections. She says a voluntary curfew in the county could help reduce the spread of the virus.
The voluntary curfew would ask people to limit outdoor activity to the essentials such as medical care, getting food or emergencies, if possible.
The county has not made such an order just yet, and it is just a recommendation from the health department as of now.
LEER EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 23 de noviembre: 2,659 casos nuevos y ningún deceso se reportan el lunes
2,659 new cases, zero new deaths reported Monday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 2,659 new cases and zero new deaths on Monday.
The department typically reports fewer numbers of cases and deaths on Mondays due to reporting lags over the weekend, but the case numbers were still higher than most Mondays.
Hospitalizations from COVID-19 also continue to rise with more than 2,000 people now occupying hospital beds.
The number of new cases is a considerable drop from the last few days, which has ranged from between 3,600 to more than 4,400.
The state last topped 4,000 new cases in July during a summer surge after Gov. Doug Ducey relaxed business closings and stay-home restrictions.
Arizona reached 300,000 coronavirus cases on Nov. 23, 200,000 on Aug. 27, 100,000 on July 6 and 50,000 cases on June 21. The state reached 6,000 coronavirus deaths 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 1.13 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 5,450 cases reported on the collection date of June 29, the day with the most collected diagnoses so far. The day with the second-most collected diagnoses so far was on Nov. 16, with 4,185 cases. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the day with the highest number of reported deaths was July 17, when 103 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.
Banner Health restricts visitors again as COVID-19 cases rise
A majority of visitors will no longer be allowed in any Banner Health location in Arizona.
According to Banner, this includes outpatient and ambulatory locations, such as clinics, urgent care, imaging centers, surgery centers and occupational health services locations.
Below are the four exceptions to the visitor restrictions, listed by Banner:
- Pediatric patients (under the age of 18) may have one guardian or support individual with them.
- Laboring mothers may have one support person with them. Doulas will also be permitted but must leave after the birth.
- Persons with disabilities who, due to the specifics of the disability, require assistance from someone in order to effectively participate in the health care process will be allowed to designate a support person to accompany them while in any Banner facility.
- End of life visitations will be accommodated.
Team 12's Jen Wahl is at Banner Health, where visitors have again been restricted as COVID-19 rates continue to rise.
Valley food banks seeing greater need, fewer donations amid COVID-19
Team 12's Matt Yurus is at St. Mary's Food Bank, where people are already lining up for a turkey.
Arizona urges Thanksgiving precautions against virus spread
Arizona health officials are urging residents to take precautions during Thanksgiving gatherings to fight the spread of COVID-19.
The state Department of Health Services recommended holding Thanksgiving gatherings outside along with masks, social distancing, and staying home if sick.
The department said people shouldn't let their guard down around anyone who isn't a member of their household.
Arizona has been experiencing a rise in cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
Officials have cited business and school reopenings and public weariness with COVID-19 precautions.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
School accountability measures up in the air amid pandemic
The coronavirus has prompted the Arizona Legislature to cancel statewide standard tests and skip grading schools for the 2019-2020 school year and the federal government waived its own school accountability requirements.
But KJZZ reports it's not yet clear whether it will be possible in the current school year to grade schools’ academic performance as was done before the pandemic.
Bullhead City Elementary School District Superintendent Carolyn Stewart and others hope the state Board of Education will support continuing the suspensions of the testing and grading.
The board expects to take a position on the issue but state and federal lawmakers will have the final say.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
Navajo Nation cases increase by all-time high of 383
The Navajo Department of Health reported an all-time high of 383 new COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and five more deaths.
The total number of positive COVID-19 cases is now 15,039, including 42 delayed reported cases.
The total number of deaths is now 631 as of Sunday.
Reports indicate that 8,131 individuals have recovered from COVID-19, and 147,793 COVID-19 tests have been administered.
The Navajo Nation is currently under a three-week stay-at-home order.
Officials are urging households not to have anyone over during the Thanksgiving holiday.
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 302,324 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 6,464 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That's an increase from the 299,665 confirmed cases and 6,464 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Sunday.
There were 2,659 new cases reported on Monday, a decrease from the 4,331 reported on Sunday.
There were zero new deaths reported on Monday, a decrease from seven reported on Sunday.
There were 5,450 cases reported on the collection date of June 29, the day with the most collected diagnoses so far. The day with the second-most collected diagnoses so far was on Nov. 16, with 4,185 cases. That is subject to change.
Health officials said the day with the highest number of reported deaths was July 17, when 103 people died. That is subject to change.
In total, 21,441 new tests were reported on Monday, a slight increase from the 21,389 new tests reported on Sunday.
There have been a total of 2,482,346 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Monday.
9.9% of those tests have been positive as of Monday, up from 9.8% on Sunday.
Here's a breakdown of the number of cases in each county:
- Maricopa: 191,503
- Pima: 36,659
- Pinal: 15,345
- Coconino: 6,988
- Navajo: 7,654
- Apache: 4,921
- Mohave: 5,643
- La Paz: 750
- Yuma: 16,826
- Graham: 1,933
- Cochise: 3,137
- Santa Cruz: 3,624
- Yavapai: 4,529
- Gila: 2,631
- Greenlee: 181
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.
