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 Tuesday, Nov 24.
Major updates:
- There have been 306,868 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 6,515 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona as of Tuesday.
- 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.
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 Tuesday
There have been 306,868 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 6,515 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state's latest numbers.
That's an increase from the 302,324 confirmed cases and 6,464 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Monday.
A week ago, there were 279,896 cases and 6,312 deaths reported in Arizona.
LEER EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 24 de noviembre: 4,544 casos nuevos y 51 decesos se reportan el martes
4,544 new cases, 51 new deaths reported Tuesday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 4,544 new cases and 51 new deaths on Tuesday.
Tuesday had the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases ever reported in Arizona, just after July 1's report of 4,433 cases.
The current surge in the coronavirus outbreak also saw the state’s seven-day rolling average of daily new cases double in the past two weeks.
The COVID Tracking Project says the seven-day rolling average of new cases went from 1,651 on Nov. 9 to 3,630 on Monday.
Virus-related hospitalizations also continued to increase, reaching 2,084 as of Monday, including 474 patients in intensive care unit beds.
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 1.14 on Sunday, up from 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. 18, with 4,261 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.
Valley COVID-19 testing sites overwhelmed with need ahead of holidays
COVID-19 testing sites across the Valley are overwhelmed with need ahead of the holidays. Team 12's Jen Wahl has the latest at Mesa Community College.
Health care leaders to Arizonans: Please dial back Thanksgiving activities
Health care leaders are calling on Arizonans to dial back their activities so hospitals don't fill up after Thanksgiving. Team 12's Matt Yurus has the latest.
RELATED: Arizona's total ICU bed occupancy at 90%: Graphs show how COVID-19 increased over last 7 weeks
Massive soccer tournament to be held in Phoenix this weekend
Five hundred teams will participate in a soccer tournament in Phoenix this weekend.
Rated Sports reserved fields at Rose Mofford Sports Complex and Reach 11 Soccer Complex to play the Desert Cup Soccer Tournament on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The city of Phoenix said an estimated 300 teams are scheduled to play at the Reach 11 Sports Complex with an additional 200 teams at Rose Mofford Sports Complex.
The city said 460 of the 500 total teams are from out of state. There are no international teams participating in this tournament.
A memo from city of Phoenix officials said the teams, players, coaches and other spectators must follow CDC guidelines and city restrictions.
"The Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department is dedicated to ensuring that our community is protected to the highest extent possible from the risk of COVID-19."
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.
Ducey expects COVID-19 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 is 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.
'Thanksgiving Grandma' keeps up tradition despite COVID loss
An Arizona woman who drew widespread attention after opening her Thanksgiving table to a stranger she accidentally texted has kept the tradition going, despite losing her husband Lonnie to COVID-19.
Wanda Dench and 21-year-old Jamal Hinton met in 2016 after the grandmother from the Phoenix suburb of Mesa mistakenly texted her grandson about coming for Thanksgiving to Hinton’s number.
Hinton jokingly replied he would like to come as well. Dench told him he was welcome.
Last week, they celebrated a mini Thanksgiving dinner with a photo of Lonnie Dench and an an empty chair for him.
The couple was infected in March and Lonnie Dench died the next month.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
RELATED: Mesa woman who went viral for 2016 Thanksgiving celebration holds first one without husband
Virus cases lead to voluntary curfew in Arizona county
Health officials in an Arizona county are asking residents to observe a 10 p.m. curfew to discourage people from going to parties, bars and other social settings that are risky for the spread of the coronavirus.
Aaron Pacheco, a spokesman for the Pima County Health Department, said the voluntary curfew was pursued because the agency doesn’t have the power to order a curfew, so it’s doing all it can to lessen the risk.
The voluntary curfew will run from Monday through Dec. 31.
It was announced a day after the county had its highest daily total virus infections since the pandemic began.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
Navajo Nation reports 197 additional virus cases, no deaths
The Navajo Nation is reporting 197 additional COVID-19 cases and no deaths from the virus as of Monday evening.
A day earlier, officials had reported 383 cases, an all-time high for the vast reservation.
In all, the tribe has reported more than 15,000 cases of the virus and 631 deaths since the pandemic began.
The Navajo Nation is currently under a three-week stay-at-home order.
Only essential workers are allowed to come and go.
Others are permitted to travel in cases of emergency or for essentials.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
More than 240k Navajos apply for tribal virus relief funding
About three-quarters of Navajos enrolled with the tribe have applied for financial assistance due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The deadline to file an application is Monday.
Already more than 240,000 Navajos have applied.
The Navajo Nation has about $90 million available for hardship assistance.
The money comes from the tribe's share of a federal coronavirus relief package.
More money could be added to the fund next month if other projects fall through.
Tribes across the country have until Dec. 30 to spend the money.
Many turned to financial aid programs to disburse the funding quickly.
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.
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 Tuesday
There have been 306,868 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 6,515 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That's an increase from the 302,324 confirmed cases and 6,464 coronavirus-related deaths reported on Monday.
There were 4,544 new cases reported on Tuesday, an increase from the 2,659 reported on Monday.
There were 51 new deaths reported on Tuesday, an increase from zero reported on Monday.
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. 18, with 4,261 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, 15,556 new tests were reported on Tuesday, a decrease from the 21,441 new tests reported on Monday.
There have been a total of 2,497,904 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Tuesday.
9.9% of those tests have been positive as of Tuesday, the same since Monday.
Here's a breakdown of the number of cases in each county:
- Maricopa: 194,410
- Pima: 36,986
- Pinal: 15,613
- Coconino: 7,114
- Navajo: 7,756
- Apache: 5,036
- Mohave: 5,808
- La Paz: 755
- Yuma: 16,932
- Graham: 2,008
- Cochise: 3,272
- Santa Cruz: 3,664
- Yavapai: 4,638
- Gila: 2,689
- Greenlee: 187
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.
