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, Sept. 24.
Major updates:
- There have been 215,852 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,559 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 215,852 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,559 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state's latest numbers.
That is an increase from 215,284 cases and 5,525 coronavirus-related deaths reported as of Wednesday.
A week ago, there were 211,660 cases and 5,409 deaths reported in Arizona.
LEER EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 24 de septiembre: 566 casos nuevos y 34 decesos se reportan el jueves
566 new cases, 34 new deaths reported Thursday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 566 new cases and 34 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 0.94 as of Tuesday, up from 0.93 on 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 5,474 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.
Peoria moving to Phase 2 of reopening
The City of Peoria will shift Phase Two of the city's plan to reopen next week as virus cases trend down.
Peoria has been on the strictest social distancing phase since May 18, but city leaders say the outbreak has regressed enough to transition to the middle phase on September 18.
The city says facilities and programs will operate under moderate physical distancing protocols and facial masks will be still be required until moving to the least stringent protocol at a future date.
Here are some things the city says will change beginning Monday:
- Ramada rentals are available for less than 50 people.
- Field reservations will resume with moderate restrictions.
- Dial-a-Ride shared rides will resume with moderate restrictions.
- Organized sports will resume with modified rules and schedules.
- Peoria’s two libraries will remain open with reduced group sizes and expanded access to technologies, collections and resources.
- The Peoria Community Center will also reopen, with group sizes limited to 50 participants.
- As local schools begin resuming onsite instruction, Peoria’s AM/PM Before and After School Program will resume with a 1 to 20 staff-student ratio
- City public meetings will open to the public with strict sanitation, moderate occupancy and social distancing protocols.
8 school-related COVID-19 outbreaks in Maricopa County
There are eight school-related COVID-19 outbreaks reported in Maricopa County as of Thursday, public health officials said.
Maricopa County Public Health added a tab to its data dashboard that lists the number of outbreaks at K-12 schools.
As of Thursday, there have been eight school-related outbreaks reported. Six of those schools are open. The county did not identify the schools involved.
The outbreaks account for a total of 35 cases: 24 among students and 11 among staff.
Public health officials constitute an outbreak as two or more cases of COVID-19 who do not live in the same household.
County schools are required to report those types of cases to public health officials within 24 hours.
This allows public health officials to work with school nurses and administrators to identify additional cases and implement control measures.
Public health officials also work with the school to determine who was potentially exposed so their parents or guardians are aware.
An outbreak is considered over if there are no new cases identified within the school community for two incubation periods or 28 days.
Mesa Public Schools preparing for reopening
Officials with the Mesa Public Schools said it would reopen with five days of modified in-person learning on Oct. 12.
That would only happen if, district officials said, the district remains in the "yellow" category of minimal and moderate community spread and if public health metrics continue to remain lower than 6% positivity for two consecutive weeks.
District officials said if public health metrics show 6% or higher positivity for two consecutive weeks, schools will remain in the current two-day model.
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.
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 215,852 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,559 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That is an increase from 215,284 cases and 5,525 coronavirus-related deaths reported as of Wednesday.
There were 566 new cases reported on Thursday, an increase from the 438 reported on Wednesday.
There were 34 deaths reported on Thursday, an increase from the 27 reported on Wednesday.
There were 5,474 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, 11,591 new tests were reported on Thursday, a decrease from the 12,768 new tests reported on Wednesday.
There have been a total of 1,705,003 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Thursday.
10.6% of those tests have been positive as of Thursday, the same as Wednesday.
Here's a county breakdown:
- Maricopa: 140,584
- Pima: 25,140
- Pinal: 10,462
- Coconino: 3,918
- Navajo: 5,770
- Apache: 3,495
- Mohave: 3,947
- La Paz: 538
- Yuma: 12,632
- Graham: 811
- Cochise: 1,889
- Santa Cruz: 2,830
- Yavapai: 2,506
- Gila: 1,268
- Greenlee: 59
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.
