Log in

Arizona nears 200,000 mark in COVID-19 cases

Posted 8/25/20

The Arizona Department of Health Services is reporting over 800 new cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday morning.

You must be a member to read this story.

Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.


Already have an account? Log in to continue.

Current print subscribers can create a free account by clicking here

Otherwise, follow the link below to join.

To Our Valued Readers –

Visitors to our website will be limited to five stories per month unless they opt to subscribe. The five stories do not include our exclusive content written by our journalists.

For $6.99, less than 20 cents a day, digital subscribers will receive unlimited access to YourValley.net, including exclusive content from our newsroom and access to our Daily Independent e-edition.

Our commitment to balanced, fair reporting and local coverage provides insight and perspective not found anywhere else.

Your financial commitment will help to preserve the kind of honest journalism produced by our reporters and editors. We trust you agree that independent journalism is an essential component of our democracy. Please click here to subscribe.

Sincerely,
Charlene Bisson, Publisher, Independent Newsmedia

Please log in to continue

Log in
I am anchor

Arizona nears 200,000 mark in COVID-19 cases

Posted

The Arizona Department of Health Services is reporting over 800 new cases of COVID-19 as of Tuesday morning.

According to AZDHS, there are 199,273 cases and 4,792 deaths of the novel coronavirus in Arizona, up 859 and 21 from Monday, respectively.

The number of cases could be higher because many people have not been tested, and some can be infected without feeling sick.

Maricopa County shows a case rate of 2,949 cases per 100,000 residents, using 2019 population estimates. The state rate is 2,738. Santa Cruz County has the highest at 5,867 cases per 100,000 residents.

As of Tuesday morning, Arizona has the lowest R-naught in the nation at 0.75, according to rt.live. This is the average number of people who become infected by an infectious person. Less than 1.0 is ideal, officials say. South Dakota has the highest at 1.23.

COVID-19-related hospitalization metrics posted on the department’s pandemic dashboard continued to trend downward and were at levels last seen in late May and early June before Arizona became a national hot spot.

New case and death reports have dropped since mid-July.

On Monday, AZDHS issued an emergency measure requiring schools, child care centers and shelters to report outbreaks of COVID-19 to their local health departments.

The measure applies to public schools, charter schools, and private schools with students from kindergarten through 12th grade, as well as child care establishments and shelters.

Those facilities already are required to report to their local health departments cases of communicable diseases including mumps, measles, and chickenpox.

AZDHS and the Arizona Department of Education worked collaboratively to develop the Roadmap for Reopening Schools and the Guidance for Safely Returning to Schools. In this guidance, schools are encouraged to report an outbreak to their local health department. An outbreak is defined as two or more laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 within a 14-day period among individuals who are epidemiologically linked, do not share a household, and are not close contacts of each other in another setting. children, and families.

For those living in Phoenix, the city and Vincere Cancer Center are in the community with a mobile testing van. The tests are free, but appointments are required at www.Phoenix.gov/COVIDTesting.

AZDHS and ASU Biodesign have partnered to make available COVID-19 saliva testing for Arizonans. It’s quick, easy and free.

Testing is available this week at State Farm Stadium in the West Valley, Diablo Stadium in Tempe and Ellie Towne Community Center in Tucson. Details on hours of operation and pre-registration requirements can be found at www.bit.ly/azcovidtestwv.

The coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms such as fever and cough for most people. The vast majority of people who are diagnosed with COVID-19 recover.

But for some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness including pneumonia, and death.