As the Arizona stay-at-home order is set to expire, businesses reopen, and testing continues to increase, experts are pointing to the importance of contact tracing to track COVID-19. Maricopa County has been approved to hire more contact tracers, and federal funding could assist in enhancing state-level tracing efforts. Long-term care facilities are reporting an increase in deaths, and the coronavirus has impacted a Flagstaff shelter. And the state’s universities, including Northern Arizona University, are tracking the virus in wastewater to estimate how many people in a community are infected.
As Arizona begins to reopen, where does the state stand on COVID-19 cases and deaths? / Arizona Republic
Maricopa County Public Health hires, trains more contact tracers to track COVID-19 / azfamily.com
Staffing hampers contact tracing effort in some Arizona counties / ABC 15
Experts say contact tracing ‘more important now than ever’ in battling COVID-19 pandemic / 12 News
Weekly update with Dr. Crystal Hepp: Tracking coronavirus in wastewater / KNAU
Breakthrough in efforts by ASU researchers to track COVID-19 through wastewater / Fox 10
Long-term care facilities in Maricopa County report sharp increase in deaths as testing ‘surge’ announced / Arizona Republic
Cars, people stream through COVID-19 testing sites as Arizona blitz continues into 2nd week / Arizona Republic
Is it safe to go out? This stat may give you some clarity / 12 News
Northern Arizona disease model cautions against returning to ‘business as usual’ too soon / KNAU
Eighteen people at Flagstaff shelter test positive for the coronavirus / Arizona Daily Sun
Experts warn antibody tests might show false negatives and positives / 12 News
An ASU researcher is working on a virus that’s harmless to humans, but kills cancer cells / Arizona Republic
An Arizona State University researcher co-founded the company OncoMyx to develop the myxoma virus, which he found to be harmless to humans but kills cancer cells, into a cancer treatment known as virotherapy with plans for clinical trials to begin in about two-and-a-half years.
Cost-effective cancer vaccine offers promise for prevention, treatment / AZ Big Media
Targeting cancer mutations with a vaccine is particularly vexing, as most are unique to each individual. But researchers at the Arizona State University Biodesign Institute may have a solution to these challenges.
Banner Innovation Group becomes a tenant at ASU’s SkySong / State Press
The Banner Innovation Group, which focuses on innovative programs within Banner Health including telehealth and robotic assistive surgery, is a new tenant of Arizona State University’s SkySong in Scottsdale.
Here’s a look at the hottest technology and innovation evolving in Arizona / AZ Big Media (Op-ed)
Steven Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, writes about the wearable innovation being produced at the WearTech Applied Research Center at Park Central including a host of medtech and fitness devices.