Arizona Governor Extends Order For Coronavirus Reporting

ARIZONA — Gov. Doug Ducey has ordered Arizona hospitals, testing labs and other health care facilities to keep reporting detailed information about the coronavirus to the state so officials can gauge the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, availability of hospital beds and other resources.

Ducey issued an executive order on Wednesday that extends the Enhanced Surveillance Advisory for 60 days as the state experiences a renewed surge in COVID-19 cases.

The advisory was originally issued in March and was revised in September to include influenza reporting of data.

“As we see cases spike around the country, containing the spread of COVID-19 remains our top priority and Arizona is on high alert going into the winter months,” Ducey said in a news release. “Extending this advisory will continue to provide the public health professionals at the Arizona Department of Health Services with the real-time information they need to make informed decisions and allocate critical resources while keeping the public informed.”

The department’s director, Dr. Cara Christ, said the reports provide data made available to the public through the department’s coronavirus dashboard. Arizona reported 1,399 new coronavirus cases and 12 deaths Thursday.

“The Enhanced Surveillance Advisory has been critical to the state’s awareness of and response to COVID-19 throughout the pandemic,” Christ said. “It also helps keep Arizonans up-to-date through the ADHS Data Dashboard that we update daily. I’m grateful to our partners from our hospitals, labs, care settings and more for their diligent work to ensure timely information.

The advisory has required hospitals and other facilities to report daily statistics on staff resources, ventilator availability, intensive care unit bed availability, inpatient bed availability and levels of personal protective equipment and medical supplies. Testing laboratories report results of all tests.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.