After experiencing no deaths from Sunday to Monday, Arizona inched closer to 300 deaths in the state.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, there are 6,948 cases and 293 deaths of COVID-19 in the state as of Tuesday morning. That equates to a 10.3% case-to-testing ratio and a 4.2% death-to-case ratio.

Maricopa County is reporting 3,572 cases and 135 deaths. State numbers show six more cases in Arizona's most populous county.

The percentage of cases hospitalized remains at 16%, or 1,095 cases.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks.

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

The vast majority of people recover.

Stay-at-home order expiring

Gov. Doug Ducey has to decide this week whether his executive orders limiting activity due to COVID-19 are worth the continued harm to the Arizona economy.

The governor most immediately has to act on his month-old stay-at-home order telling people they cannot go out unless they are engaged in an essential activity. That edict self-destructs at midnight Thursday night unless renewed.

Given Mr. Ducey’s cautious approach to enacting the order in the first place — at least two dozen other governors had acted before Arizona’s March 31 implementation — it is unlikely he would allow it to simply expire. Instead the expectation is for a loosening, perhaps tied to some advisories about social distancing.

Contact tracing

County and federal leaders are looking at ways to improve contact tracing in order to find and limit the number of people becoming infected with the new coronavirus.

The Maricopa County Department of Public Health says it’s trying to scale up contact tracing capacity by eight to 10 times its current level, according to Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine.

MCDPH has done contact tracing for every confirmed case of COVID-19, beginning with the county’s first case in January. An expanded team of contact tracers will help meet the need as more individuals are tested, which will inevitably raise the number of positive cases requiring contact tracing.

Valleywide flyover

In honor of frontline workers in the battle against COVID-19, several aircraft from Luke Air Force Base will conduct a flyover above a majority of Valley communities.

The May 1 event includes the 56th Fighter Wing and the 944th Fighter Wing, along with the Arizona Air National Guard 161st Air Refueling Wing.

A formation of 15 aircraft, including seven F-35A Lightning IIs and seven F-16 Fighting Falcons flying out of Luke Air Force Base and one KC-135 from the 161st ARW will begin the flyover at around 3:10 p.m. Friday, May 1 and will last 50 minutes.

The flight path will bring them through Buckeye, Luke Air Force Base, Litchfield Park, Surprise, Waddell, Goodyear, Tolleson, Phoenix, Tempe, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Scottsdale, Deer Valley, Glendale, Peoria, Sun City West, and El Mirage. Residents along the flight path can expect a few seconds of jet noise as the aircraft pass overhead.