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. 15.
Major updates:
- There have been 209,209 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,344 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.
COVID-19 cases reported in Arizona on Tuesday
There have been 209,209 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,344 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona, according to the state's latest numbers.
That is an increase from 208,725 cases and 5,322 coronavirus-related deaths reported as of Monday.
A week ago, there were 206,045 cases and 5,221 deaths reported in Arizona.
LEER EN ESPANOL: Coronavirus en Arizona el 15 de septiembre: 484 casos nuevos y 22 decesos se reportan el martes
484 new cases, 22 new deaths reported Tuesday
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 484 new cases and 22 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 1.01 as of Monday, down from 1.05 on Sunday.
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 5,478 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 97 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.
Mesa increases funding to help residents pay bills
The city of Mesa announced Tuesday that it is providing more funding to help residents who have past-due utility bills due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funding, which is from the CARES Act, will be used to pay bills for residents using city electric, gas, water or solid waste services or utility service from Salt River Project or Southwest Gas.
Customers of the city, SRP and Southwest Gas can apply for help to pay off bills from March to October. They must be Mesa residents and meet specific income qualifications.
Find more information here.
Banner health allows visitors for most inpatients
Banner Health changed its visitor restrictions at hospitals in the metropolitan Phoenix, Tucson and Casa Grande areas.
One visitor per patient per day is now permitted for most inpatients, officials said.
Outpatient buildings and services still don't allow most visitors.
Visits for most patients will be allowed from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a maximum duration of three hours.
APS extends hold on disconnects for past-due bills
APS, one of Arizona's public utility services, announced Tuesday that residential and business customers would not have their service disconnected through the end of the year if they can't afford their bills.
Late fees will also be waived during this time. This was initially supposed to end in October.
Fry's to hold flu shot clinic on Saturday
Fry’s Food Stores is hosting a flu shot clinic from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
It will be held at the Kiwanis Park Recreation Center in Tempe.
The flu shot clinics are open to the public and will offer free flu shots through most insurance plans.
Interested participants must register online to receive a flu shot at frysfood.com/flu.
ASU reporting 1,498 coronavirus cases, but most have fully recovered
Arizona State University reported 1,498 cases of coronavirus across its entire faculty and student body but most patients have made a full recovery, university officials announced Monday.
ASU said 1,469 students and 29 faculty and staff members have tested positive since August.
Of those, 1,139 students have been medically cleared. ASU also says 144 staff members have been cleared and that number includes some faculty members who tested positive before the testing surge began.
That figure is out of over 100,000 people across the university’s campuses.
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) 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 209,209 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 5,344 coronavirus-related deaths reported in Arizona.
That is an increase from 208,725 cases and 5,322 coronavirus-related deaths reported as of Monday.
There were 484 new cases reported on Tuesday, an increase from the 213 new cases reported on Monday.
There were 22 deaths reported on Tuesday, an increase from the zero new deaths reported Monday.
There were 5,478 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 97 people died. That is subject to change.
In total, 10,097 new tests were reported on Tuesday, an increase from the 5,536 new tests reported on Monday.
There have been a total of 1,588,790 PCR and Serology tests reported to the state as of Tuesday.
11% of those tests have been positive as of Tuesday, the same as Monday.
Here's a county breakdown:
- Maricopa: 137,870
- Pima: 22,643
- Pinal: 10,198
- Coconino: 3,565
- Navajo: 5,704
- Apache: 3,395
- Mohave: 3,798
- La Paz: 527
- Yuma: 12,430
- Graham: 776
- Cochise: 1,861
- Santa Cruz: 2,787
- Yavapai: 2,429
- Gila: 1,168
- 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.
