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, Sept. 22.
Major updates:
- There have been 214,846 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,498 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona as of Tuesday.
- U.S. death toll tops 200,000.
- 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 Tuesday
There have been 214,846 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,498 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state's latest numbers.
That is an increase from 214,251 cases and 5,478 coronavirus-related deaths reported as of Monday.
A week ago, there were 209,209 cases and 5,344 deaths reported in Arizona.
LEER EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 22 de septiembre: 595 casos nuevos y 20 decesos se reportan el martes
595 new cases, 20 new deaths reported Tuesday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 595 new cases and 20 new deaths on Tuesday.
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 0.93 as of Monday.
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 5,487 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 98 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.
Navajo Nation experiencing spike in cases, new weekend lockdown order
The Navajo Nation is implementing a full 57-hour weekend lockdown from Sept. 25 to Sept. 28 after an influx of cases. The cases include over 40 confirmed positive cases in the Sage Memorial Hospital service area and close to a dozen positive cases in the satellite chapters in the Eastern Navajo Agency.
According to the Navajo Department of Health, the cases are a direct result of a direct result of family gatherings and off-Reservation travel.
The lockdown starts at 8 p.m. MDT on Friday and ends at 5 a.m. MDT on Monday.
All individuals on the Navajo Nation must remain at home during lockdown hours except in the event of an emergency.
Essential Businesses, including all stores, gas stations, restaurants and drive through food establishments will be closed according to the health department.
Per the health department the closure and cease operations requirement does not apply to healthcare operations, essential governmental functions, or essential infrastructure or to food cultivation operations.
More information can be found here.
Scottsdale ends its mandatory mask mandate
The city of Scottsdale rescinded its mask mandate, but people in the city will not see much change because Maricopa County's requirement is still in place.
The city said in a tweet that the decision was "based upon the significant decline of infection & hospitalization rates in Maricopa County seen over the past several weeks."
"The increase in these same rate factors are what drove the decision to require masks in June," the city continued in a statement.
Find more information here.
UArizona to hold in-person classes through Oct. 2
Officials with the University of Arizona announced the school will hold in-person classes through Oct. 2.
The only classes that are held in person are essential courses. University officials said about 5,000 students are attending essential courses.
University officials said 79 of the 1,299 tests conducted returned positive results on Friday.
That was a rate of 6.1%, down from the 8.8% positivity rate a week earlier.
No new students were admitted to isolation housing over the weekend, University President Robert Robbins said, and 100 students were able to leave isolation housing.
Free drive-thru COVID-19 testing to be held in Phoenix
Officials are continuing to make it easier than ever to get tested for COVID-19 with more drive-thru testing sites in Phoenix.
Rapid Reliable Testing partnered with the city of Phoenix to provide COVID-19 testing with no out-of-pocket costs.
Drive-thru testing sites will be available at Los Olivos Park. You can pre-register online or register on-site.
The team said it expects to administer 700 tests a day.
It'll be available from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. through Friday.
Glendale nightclub ordered to close over COVID-19 violations
The Arizona Department of Health Services announced Monday that it ordered a nightclub in the West Valley to close due to COVID-19 violations.
El Antro Nightclub near 43rd and Glendale avenues was ordered to close "based on the executive order's requirement that affected businesses enforce physical distancing," the department said.
Other nightclubs in Arizona have been closed over the same violations.
Navajo Nation reports zero new deaths for second straight day
Navajo Nation health officials on Monday reported 11 new confirmed cases of coronavirus but no additional deaths for the second consecutive day.
The Navajo Department of Health says the number of known COVID-19-related deaths remains at 548 since the pandemic began.
The total number of confirmed cases is now 10,031 which includes one additional case that was previously unreported due to delayed reporting.
Tribal health officials say 102,442 people have been tested for the coronavirus and 7,234 have recovered on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
The Navajo Nation enforced another 32-hour partial weekend lockdown, which began at 9 p.m. Saturday and ended at 5 a.m. Monday, to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The above article is from The Associated Press.
Navajo Nation to extend weekend lockdown
The Navajo Nation is implementing a stricter weekend lockdown as it looks into new clusters of coronavirus cases.
Residents of the vast reservation that extends into New Mexico, Arizona and Utah will be required to stay home from Friday evening until early Monday morning.
A previous lockdown was a day shorter.
Tribal President Jonathan Nez says the tribe is investigating new cases that resulted from family gatherings around Ganado, Arizona, and on the eastern side of the reservation in New Mexico.
A new public health order with the extended lockdown is expected Tuesday.
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 214,251 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,478 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That is an increase from 214,251 cases and 5,478 coronavirus-related deaths reported as of Monday.
There were 595 new cases reported on Tuesday, an increase from the 233 reported on Monday.
There were 20 deaths reported on Monday, an increase from the two reported on Monday.
There were 5,487 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 98 people died. That is subject to change.
In total, 10,226 new tests were reported on Tuesday, an increase from the 8,099 new tests reported on Monday.
There have been a total of 1,680,643 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Tuesday.
10.7% of those tests have been positive as of Tuesday, the same as Monday.
Here's a county breakdown:
- Maricopa: 140,314
- Pima: 24,798
- Pinal: 10,397
- Coconino: 3,777
- Navajo: 5,751
- Apache: 3,462
- Mohave: 3,914
- La Paz: 536
- Yuma: 12,594
- Graham: 797
- Cochise: 1,887
- Santa Cruz: 2,824
- Yavapai: 2,489
- Gila: 1,247
- Greenlee: 58
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.
