Arizona has 1 million COVID-19 cases
Arizona surpasses 1 million COVID-19 cases
PHOENIX – Arizona Exceeded 1 million COVID-19 Cases on Friday, making it the 13th state to hit the grim milestone while grappling with another sharp surge in infections.
The benchmark is the latest in a tumultuous year and a half that went from being a pandemic track record to being a “hotspot of the world” and then becoming a model again when vaccinations became available. Now, like the rest of the country, the state is grappling with a surge – mostly unvaccinated – and ongoing conflicts over mask and vaccine mandates.
It ranks 13th nationwide for the number of cases per 100,000 people, according to the COVID Data Tracker from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Surprise couple speak out after recovering from COVID-19
Surprise Couple Tells COVID-19 Battle As Arizona Surprises 1 Million Cases
Jim Kalweit’s wife, Kimberly, spent several weeks in the hospital during her COVID battle, and at one point Jim thought his wife wasn’t going to make it. Irene Snyder from FOX 10 reports.
One day Arizona hit the sobering milestone, a couple in the West Valley spoke about their fight against COVID-19.
“Definitely a test of faith,” said Jim Kalweit.
Jim’s wife, Kimberly, contracted COVID-19 after traveling to visit her family in Florida and North Carolina. Within a day, they both tested positive and Kimberly was taken to the emergency room.
“You had to put her on a BiPap right away, transfer her to Chandler, there [it was] the nearest open facility, and there she was put on a ventilator within an hour, “said Jim.
Jim said both he and Kimberly were not vaccinated.
Kimberly said she doesn’t remember anything from her time on the ventilator and even now her memory is very blurry.
There were moments in the hospital when Jim, a paramedic, thought Kimberly might not make it.
“I said to them, ‘I know I want you guys to be honest with me. I need the truth,’ and they were super nice with it, gave us all the information we needed, but it’s scary because you know – and then you have to tell the family, “said Jim.
MORE: Coronavirus in Arizona: Latest Case Numbers
COVID-19 came to Arizona early
As of January 2020, a person with ties to Arizona State University got sick after a trip to Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, and became one of the first five confirmed cases in the United States. The person was isolated and recovered at home.
However, more than 100 cases were reported in most counties and the Navajo nation within two months.
The first Arizona death was reported on March 20, 2020, a man in his fifties in Maricopa County, followed by a second two days later.
On March 30, 2020, Governor Doug Ducey issued a month-long stay at home order that allowed people to bring only food, medicine, and other “essential activities”. Non-essential businesses like the Rebel Lounge, a music club in Phoenix, basically had to close.
The club’s owner, Stephen Chilton, went without performances for about a year and had to leave most of his staff on leave. He canceled and rebooked shows up to six times without generating any income.
Chilton reopened its doors in October, this time as a coffee shop. In June the gigs were resumed at full capacity, but now with the Delta variant, some bands are canceling shows again and Chilton is canceling calendar dates again.
“You can’t have a lot of expectations – I think that’s how you deal with it,” said Chilton.
The backlash to Ducey’s stay-at-home orders resulted in an overcrowded, largely mask-free protest at the Capitol on April 20, 2020. Nine days later, he began easing his coronavirus restrictions, so some companies are facing a visit from. President Donald Trump at the time was able to reopen a mask factory near Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
Meanwhile, deaths continued to rise across the state. An outbreak swept across the Navajo nation and would tax healthcare systems in northern Arizona and New Mexico. As of June 3, the Navajo nation had recorded 252 deaths. Navajo President Jonathan Nez ordered a series of strict weekend curfews to help control the disease, which persisted at times for much of 2020.
By the end of May 2020, the death toll from the Arizona virus exceeded 900 and known infections exceeded 20,000. Hospital admissions hit a record high and hospitals began warning that they will soon have to implement top-up plans to deal with surplus patients.
Despite mounting pressure, the Republican governor refused to impose a mask mandate and continued to block local governments from introducing their own mandate. He gave in on June 17, 2020, giving cities and counties the power to require masks. Most did.
Arizona surpassed one million COVID-19 cases on August 27th
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That month, Kristin Urquiza lost her father to the virus. She made headlines when she blamed Ducey in part for his death, saying Mark Anthony Urquiza believed it was safe to go out in May.
She channeled her outrage into helping shape Marked By COVID, a nonprofit that aims to shape policy and train people to stand up for pandemic-related issues. Urquiza sometimes ponders where she would be if COVID-19 had never happened. She has never seen herself run an organization.
“This lived experience of losing my father helped me connect with a few things that I haven’t always had,” said Urquiza. “I feel like it’s important for me to get up myself and that’s okay to take my place and stand in my own strength.”
After a slowdown in hospital stays in late summer, new infections led to an overwhelming winter surge. Hospitals advocated further restrictions to control the spread of the disease, but Ducey declined.
“I don’t think the correct answer is to put hundreds of thousands of Arizonans out of work just before the holidays,” Ducey said at the time.
The number of cases exceeded 500,000 by December 28. Hospitals and intensive care units were full, and some had to turn away ambulances.
At the time, Molly Elkins, 27, was an eight-month nurse in the intensive care unit in Phoenix for three months. When she started her nursing career three years ago, she wanted to work in the intensive care unit. But she never imagined being surrounded by death and crying with the patients’ families as they finally said goodbye on FaceTime.
Concerned for her mental health, Elkins switched to the surgical nurse in May.
“I would have nightmares. I would come home and still be upset physically and emotionally at the end of the day,” said Elkins. “I feel like I’m protecting myself better. I know how to stand up for myself and put my needs first.”
On January 3, Arizona had the highest number of new cases in a single day: 17,234. But with the massive distribution of vaccines on the horizon, there was reason for hope.
As vaccine supplies increased, the state expanded vaccination centers, including one supported by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Citing lower case letters and rising vaccination rates, Ducey lifted remaining restrictions on gyms, restaurants and other businesses in early March.
On March 16, Arizona hit the 1 million mark for fully vaccinated people.
Valley Hospitals are seeing a surge in younger COVID-19 patients amid a new surge in cases
Medical experts say that most of the patients hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated, and they also gave some insight into why we’re seeing fewer elderly people hospitalized with COVID-19. Irene Snyder from FOX 10 reports.
The state crossed 800,000 cases in early February and took six months to hit 900,000 in June. In the more contagious Delta variant, however, the next 100,000 cases came within just seven weeks. As of Friday, 18,724 people had died.
Hospitals are again sounding the alarm that their beds are filling up and their staff is grappling with a further influx of patients. This time around, the patients are almost entirely people who refused to receive vaccines that have been shown to be highly effective in preventing hospitalization.
Caroline Maloney, a nearly 30-year-old nurse who has worked at HonorHealth’s Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center for more than a decade, was in the middle of the pandemic from the start. She saw the virus ebb in the summer of 2020, last winter, and now again.
“I don’t think the human brain can handle it,” she said of Arizona, which has 1 million cases and 18,600 deaths. “I don’t think that as an individual you can fathom that number. It’s incomprehensible.”
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Associated press writers Jacques Billeaud, Bob Christie and Paul Davenport contributed to this report.
To protect yourself from possible infection, the CDC recommends:
- Avoid close contact with sick people.
- 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 with a normal household cleaning spray or cloth.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face covering when around others
- Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom. before the meal; and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.
- Monitor your health daily
Symptoms for the coronavirus COVID-19 include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. These are of course similar to the common cold and flu.
Expect a cold that starts with a sore throat or itchy throat, cough, runny and / or stuffy nose. Flu symptoms are more intense and usually come on suddenly and can include a high fever.
Symptoms of COVID-19 can occur more slowly. According to the World Health Organization, this usually includes fever, dry cough and noticeable shortness of breath. A minority of cases develop pneumonia and the disease is of particular concern for the elderly and people with other medical problems such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, or heart disease.
TIED TOGETHER: Is it the flu, cold or COVID-19? Different viruses show similar symptoms
To protect yourself, wash your hands well and often, keep them away from your face, and avoid crowds and stand near people.
And if you experience any of these flu or coronavirus symptoms, don’t go straight to your doctor’s office. That only risks making more people sick, officials demand. Call ahead and ask if you need to be seen and where.
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