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Tucson's south side, Green Valley among virus hot spots, state data shows

From the April's Tucson-area coronavirus coverage: 1,200+ Pima County cases, stay-home order extended series

By Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services
Apr 13, 2020
Apr 13, 2020 Updated Apr 28, 2020

Coronavirus illustration — The Tucson area’s hot spot for COVID-19 cases is ZIP code 85714, which has 64 confirmed cases so far.
fotomay / Getty Images

PHOENIX — New data released by the state Sunday shows at least 10 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in most ZIP codes in the Tucson and Phoenix metro areas.

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And in some cases more.

The 85714 ZIP code along Tucson’s south side has 64 confirmed cases. Green Valley, south of Tucson, has 42.

The Tucson area’s relative hot spot is ZIP code 85714, a swath between Ajo Way and Irvington Road, west from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base to just west of Interstate 19. So far, it has 64 confirmed cases of COVID-19.

There also are infections in surrounding areas, with 85706, just south, showing 45 cases, and 85713, just north, showing 32 cases.

Some parts of Tucson have fewer than five confirmed cases, including ZIP code 85715 on Tucson’s northeast side and 85707 on the city’s southeast edge.

The new data, from the state health department, also breaks down cases in more detail than has been available:

• Arizonans age 65 and older are much more likely to die from the virus, making up 78 of the 115 deaths to date.

• Younger people — those 20 to 44 years old — apparently are more likely to recover, as there are 3,601 confirmed cases in that group to date but only one death.

• Men are more likely to succumb to COVID-19 even though they account for fewer than half of the state’s 3,539 confirmed cases.

• Native Americans make up 6% of all cases — close to their percentage of the state’s population — but account for 16% of deaths in Arizona.

The new data and maps do not show the relative rate of infection, as the number of people living in each ZIP code can vary widely.

But they provide the first look yet down to the neighborhood level. Until now, the state health department had released data only by county.

There are some gaps in the data.

For example, the new report does not list numbers for ZIP codes where tribal members make up more than 50% of the population.

Along the state’s southern border, there were 1-5 cases reported in each of the three ZIP codes in the Nogales area.

The same is true for the two ZIP codes for Sierra Vista, though the Douglas area has between 6 and 10.

There also are some apparent anomalies in the area: While the Benson and Willcox areas have no reported cases, the 85606 ZIP code in between, around the community of Cochise, has between 1 and 5.