Healthcare facilities will be required to more specifically track influenza cases amid the coronavirus pandemic following an Executive Order by Governor Doug Ducey.
The requirement is part of the Enhanced Surveillance Advisory, put in place with an Executive Order from March 2020, requiring facilities and laboratories to track COVID-19 cases and other data. This week's announcement extends that requirement and adds influenza reporting to that as well.
“COVID-19 and influenza season pose a dual threat to Arizona this year,” said Governor Ducey in a news release. “That’s why it is so important to get your flu shot and continue making responsible choices, such as masking up and staying physically distant. We are committed to keeping Arizonans healthy and safe throughout influenza season, and we will continue our state’s around-the-clock efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and protect public health.”
On a daily basis, Arizona hospitals will be required to report statistics on staff resources, ventilator ability, ICU bed availability, inpatient bed availability, personal protective equipment and other supply levels, and more.
They will be required to report the number of positive influenza patients or patients with suspected influenza, the number of ventilators in use by that group, number of ICU beds in use by that group, and the number of people in that group seen in emergency departments per day.
