COVID-19 cases in Litchfield Park top 820

By Kelly O’Sullivan
Twitter: @AzNewsmedia

The Arizona Department of Health Services reported the number of COVID-19 cases in Litchfield Park 85340 was 821 as of Friday, Sept. 25, a 0.74% increase over last Friday and 0.24% increase over Thursday. That represents an increase of six new cases over the week and two cases overnight.

The ZIP code includes the city of Litchfield Park and unincorporated Maricopa County. The state does not separate cases by incorporated and unincorporated areas.

The agency said more than 90% of cases were mapped to the address of the patient’s residence:

 Litchfield Park 85340

Cases as of Sept. 18: 815
Cases as of Sept. 19: 817
Cases as of Sept. 20: 819
Cases as of Sept. 21: 819
Cases as of Sept. 22: 820
Cases as of Sept. 23: 822
Cases as of Sept. 24: 819
Cases as of Sept. 25: 821

 To see full numbers across the state, click here.

READ: Virus cases rise in US heartland, home to anti-mask feelings

Maricopa County benchmarks data

ADHS tracks the level of community transmission of COVID-19 as part of its three benchmarks for business and school reopenings, updating its benchmarks data dashboard on Thursdays.

The benchmarks — number of cases per 100,000 people, percent positivity of tests and percentage of people hospitalized with COVID-like illnesses — are divided into three categories: substantial, moderate and minimal.

Substantial transmission: more than 100 cases per 100,000 people, 10% or higher test positivity and more than 10% hospitalizations.
Moderate transmission: 10 to 100 cases per 100,000 people, 5% to 10% test positivity and 5% to 10% hospitalizations.
Minimal transmission: Fewer than 10 cases per 100,000 people, less than 5% test positivity and fewer than 5% hospitalizations.

Figures are about 12 days old to allow for lags in reporting, ADHS states on the website. All three benchmarks must be met for 14 days to move from a higher transmission phase to a lower one.

This week’s community transmission: Moderate

As of Thursday, Sept. 24, the dashboard categorized Maricopa County’s community transmission as Moderate, based on data collected Monday Day and Month Day:

Cases per 100,000 people: 32 Sept. 6 / 43 Aug. 30

To view the benchmarks dashboard, click here.

Different businesses have different benchmarks for reopening, as do schools.

Benchmarks for businesses

Per ADHS, if community transmission is substantial, bars and nightclubs, gyms and fitness center, water parks and tube operators must remain closed.

If transmission is moderate, bars and nightclubs providing dine-in services, movie theaters, water parks and tube operators can operate at 50% capacity. Gyms and fitness centers can operate at 25% capacity. Bars and nightclubs that do not serve food cannot reopen.

If transmission is minimal, all bars and nightclubs, movie theaters, water parks, tube operators, gyms and fitness centers can operate at 50% capacity if the percent positivity is below 3%.

Benchmarks for schools

There are two main components for reopening Arizona schools for in-person instruction: quality of the school’s mitigation plan, or how it will minimize the spread of COVID-19; and the degree of community transmission outlined above.

AZDHS recommended that county-specific public health benchmarks fall within the moderate or minimal spread category in all three benchmarks for two weeks to provide hybrid learning (some students in physical buildings and some students distance learning), specifically:

• A two-week decline in the number of cases or two weeks with new case rates below 100 per 100,000 threshold
• Two weeks with less than 7% test positivity
• Two weeks with less than 10% COVID-like illness hospitalizations

READ: Local lockdowns imposed in several cities as UK cases rise

Maricopa County overview

As of Sept. 25, the state reported the following in Maricopa County:

Countywide cases:  140,753 (139,245 last Friday); 169 new from the previous day (1946 new last Friday)
Rate of cases per 100,000 people: 3,222.5 (3,188.0 last Friday)
Deaths: 3,343 (3,245 last Friday); 14 new since the previous day (35 new last Friday)
Fatality rate per 100,000 people: 76.45 (74.29 last Friday)
Number of tests conducted: 1,036,443 (1,007,640 last Friday); -3,8022 new from the previous day (4,5228 new last Friday)
Test positivity: 11.6% (11.8% last Friday)

To view the data dashboard and statewide information on cases by age, ethnicity and gender; hospital and ventilator usage and availability, and hospital-specific COVID-19 metrics, click here.

Kelly O’Sullivan can be reached at kosullivan@newszap.com or 760-963-1697.