New weekly COVID-19 cases in Litchfield Park drops by half

The Arizona Department of Health Services reported the number of COVID-19 cases in Litchfield Park 85340 was 3,612 as of Friday, March 5, a 0.73% increase over last week.

That represents an increase of 26 new cases over the week, about half the number of new cases reported Feb. 26.

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 Feb. 26: 3,586
Cases as of Feb. 27: 3,592
Cases as of Feb. 28: 3,596
Cases as of March 1: Missing
Cases as of March 2: 3,598
Cases as of March 3: 3,600
Cases as of March 4: Missing
Cases as of March 5: 3,612

Vaccinations

Each Wednesday, the county updates the number of residents vaccinated, and the percentage of residents vaccinated by ZIP code at maricopa.gov/5671/Public-Vaccine-Data.

As of March 2, more than 1 million doses had been administered to county residents.

In Litchfield Park 85340,  82.9% of residents had received their first dose and 47.9% had received their second dose.

READ: Swelling after COVID-19 shots may cause false cancer alarms

The total eligible population to receive COVID-19 vaccine is based on which phase Maricopa County is vaccinating and calculated using Census 2020 estimates, according the county website.

The percentages released March 2 include Phase 1A, Phase 1B, and those 65 and older.

March 10’s update is expected to the newly-eligible groups, including residents 55 and older.

For county vaccine updates, to learn whether you’re eligible for a vaccination, see how many point of dispensing (POD) vaccination sites are open or to find an appointment, click here.

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: Substantial

As of Thursday, March 4, the dashboard categorized Maricopa County’s community transmission as substantial, based on data collected Feb. 7 and 14:

Cases per 100,000 people: 147 Feb. 14 / 173 Feb. 7
Test positivity: 9.4% Feb. 14 / 8.9% Feb. 7
COVID-like hospitalizations: 4.5% Feb. 7 / 6.2% Feb. 7

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 centers, 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.

READ: Agua Fria district expedites in-person return to comply with governor’s order

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

Maricopa County overview

As of March 5, the state reported the following in Maricopa County:

Countywide cases: 514,132 (508,997 last Friday); 1,097 new from the previous day (1,046 new last Friday)
Rate of cases per 100,000 people: 11.770.9 (11,653.3 last Friday)
Deaths: 9,286 (9,061 last Friday); 63 new since the previous day (61 new last Friday)
Fatality rate per 100,000 people: 212.6 (207.45 last Friday)
Number of tests conducted: 2,597,617 (2,548,932 last Friday); 12,179new from the previous day (7,141 new last Friday)
Test positivity: 14.6% (14.7% 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.