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 Thursday, Oct. 8.
Major updates:
- There have been 223,401 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,743 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona as of Thursday.
- 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 Thursday
There have been 223,401 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,743 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state's latest numbers.
That is an increase from 222,538 cases and 5,733 coronavirus-related deaths reported as of Wednesday.
A week ago, there were 219,212 cases and 5,674 deaths reported in Arizona.
LEER EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 8 de octubre: 863 casos nuevos y 10 decesos se reportan el jueves
863 new cases, 10 new deaths reported Thursday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 863 new cases and 10 new deaths on Thursday.
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 1.06 on Wednesday, up from 1.05 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 5,463 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 100 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.
Presidential campaigns to host events in Phoenix-area on Thursday
Vice President Mike Pence will hold a campaign event in Peoria on Thursday, the same day Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will visit the Valley.
RELATED: LIVE UPDATES: Joe Biden, Kamala Harris visit Arizona for first campaign stop of 2020 election
Maricopa County distributes more than 4 million pieces of PPE
Maricopa County officials said Thursday that its Unified Command has distributed more than four million pieces of personal protective equipment.
“Access to personal protective equipment has not always been easy during the pandemic, but Maricopa County has worked hard to obtain PPE and review and prioritize requests to get supplies to those who need it the most,” said Emergency Management Director Robert Rowley said in a statement.
“Early in the pandemic, our focus was on long-term care facilities, acute care hospitals, and EMS transport. Now, with more supply, we are able to meet a greater variety of requests, including enhanced support for schools.”
As of Oct. 7, Maricopa County distributed:
- 1,783,048 gloves
- 531,150 surgical masks
- 405,253 gowns
- 195,146 N95 respirators
- 106,674 face shields
- 63,689 reusable cloth face coverings
Airbnb to ban one-night registrations over Halloween
Airbnb announced that it would prohibit one-night reservations over Halloween weekend amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and to strengthen hosts’ protection against parties.
In Arizona, Airbnb said nearly 170 reservations in Arizona have been canceled since the company expanded its manual review of high-risk reservations last year.
Navajo Nation reports 27 new cases, 2 new deaths
The Navajo Department of Health reported 27 new COVID-19 positive cases for the Navajo Nation and two more deaths.
The total number of positive COVID-19 cases is now 10,546, including 18 additional cases that were previously unreported due to delayed reporting or reconciliation.
The total number of deaths is now 562 as of Wednesday.
Reports indicate that 7,301 individuals have recovered from COVID-19, and 110,405 COVID-19 tests have been administered.
Arizona early voting starts with millions of ballots mailed
Early voting has started in Arizona, with counties opening sites for people to cast ballots and county Recorders mailing millions of early ballots to voters Wednesday.
More than 75% of Arizona’s approximately 4.1 million registered voters are permanently signed up to receive mail ballots.
Democrat Joe Biden is hoping to win the presidency in part by taking the state for his party the first time since Bill Clinton won re-election in 1996.
He and running mate Sen. Kamala Harris are set to campaign here Thursday.
Vice President Mike Pence is also set to campaign in metro Phoenix Thursday.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
Tolleson high schools to remain virtual for first semester
The governing board for the Tolleson Union High School District voted to keep schools online through the end of the first semester.
The first semester will end on Dec. 18, the board announced in a letter on Wednesday.
"All decisions for returning to in-person, on-campus learning will be based on data and the metrics," the board wrote in a letter.
"We have been closely monitoring the data and looking for the metrics in our district to improve."
Some Paradise Valley students to return to classroom on Thursday
Some students in the Paradise Valley Unified School District will return to the classroom on Thursday.
The staggered return starts with pre-kindergarten, kindergarten through third grade, seventh grade and ninth grade heading back on Thursday.
Grades 4 through 6, 8 and 10 will return on Oct. 12 while grades 11 and 12 will return on Oct. 19.
"Following a staggered or phased-in start allows students most in need of returning to in-person learning to come back earliest, allows reopening to be spread out over time to ensure stability in health benchmarks, and provides students in transition grades (Kindergarten,7th, 9th) the opportunity to acclimate to the campus," the district said on its website.
"Families electing to not have their child(ren) return for in-person learning will be able to remain in distance learning using PVConnect or PVOnline. Schools will be working with families to confirm their desired learning options."
Phoenix votes to reopen city parks
The Phoenix City Council voted on Wednesday to reopen park amenities that were closed at the beginning of the pandemic.
The reopening will be effective on Friday with the exception of some parts managed by the Parks and Recreation Department which require could require more time.
Phoenix public parks, trails and golf courses have remained open with high-touch surfaces and areas that made physical distancing difficult, closed to the public.
RELATED: Phoenix city parks set to reopen
Downtown Phoenix marketplace to reopen Friday
The Churchill, an open-air marketplace in downtown Phoenix, will reopen at 4 p.m. Friday.
The marketplace will reopen with 10 locally-owned retail shops, restaurants and lounges, including the all-new Stoop Kid, an New York-style bagel and coffee shop.
The Churchill will have limited seating, including the upstairs dining deck. All seating will be assigned and limited to 50% capacity. Guests will be required to wear masks while entering or moving around the space.
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 Thursday
There have been 222,538 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,733 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That is an increase from 222,538 cases and 5,733 coronavirus-related deaths reported as of Wednesday.
There were 863 new cases reported on Thursday, an increase from the 604 reported on Wednesday.
There was 10 new deaths reported on Thursday, a decrease from the 20 new deaths reported Wednesday.
There were 5,463 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 100 people died. That is subject to change.
In total, 13,254 new tests were reported on Thursday, an increase from 7,781 on Wednesday.
There have been a total of 1,830,364 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Thursday.
10.2% of those tests have been positive as of Thursday, the same as Wednesday.
Here's a breakdown of the number of cases in each county:
- Maricopa: 144,867
- Pima: 26,217
- Pinal: 10,919
- Coconino: 4,385
- Navajo: 5,871
- Apache: 3,654
- Mohave: 4,079
- La Paz: 557
- Yuma: 12,894
- Graham: 907
- Cochise: 1,937
- Santa Cruz: 2,895
- Yavapai: 2,672
- Gila: 1,487
- Greenlee: 60
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.
