Though active cases at the University continue downward, the country reached a grim milestone as the COVID-19 death toll in the U.S. surpassed 500,000 on Monday.
Cases within the ASU community continue to fall, with the total number of cases dropping by 45 since last Monday.
ASU reported a total of 166 active cases as of Monday, a decrease of 12 cases since last Thursday's total of 178, according to the University's latest update.
Of these 166 cases, 22 are employees and 144 are students.
Since Jan. 1, the University has reported 1,809 cumulative cases reported out of the more than 53,444 tests collected.
ASU has reported 6,314 cumulative cases since Aug. 1, with 5,632 of those cases being students and 682 being employees.
The school's latest totals reflect a hopeful statewide trend as case averages continue to decrease.
Arizona's rate of positive new cases over the past seven days was 21 per 100,000 people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID Data Tracker.
Data recorded by John Hopkins University put the state's seven-day percent positivity rate at 5% as of Monday. A positivity rate of 5% is considered an indication of the spread of the virus being under control.
Encouraged by these totals, UA announced Monday the school would move to Stage 2 of its campus reentry plan, allowing in-person classes of fewer than 50 people.
READ MORE: ASU plans for in-person Fall 2021 semester
The Arizona Department of Health Services dashboard reported a total of 506,046 confirmed cases in Maricopa County. The state reported 1,507 new cases Monday and no new deaths from COVID-19.
Tempe stores and pharmacies to offer vaccines
The city of Tempe announced Monday stores such as Fry's, Safeway, Albertsons, CVS and Walgreens are offering COVID-19 vaccines through a federal program, though supply remains limited.
The Federal Retail Pharmacy Program is providing vaccines to 200 locations in Maricopa County and 40,000 locations nationwide. This is in addition to the number of doses allocated for state-run sites like State Farm Stadium and Phoenix Municipal Stadium, according to the release.
The program directly ships doses to pharmacies as the vaccines become available, but as supply continues to be limited, many pharmacies may not have the vaccine yet or have a very limited supply.
Most do not have appointments at this time, and some pharmacies may only offer the vaccine for those who are "age qualified or have other restrictions," the release said. More details can be found through the Fry's, Safeway, Walgreens or Albertsons online vaccine web pages.
The Maricopa County and statewide vaccine location maps are regularly updated with sites and vaccine availability.
Reach the reporter at sreyes23@asu.edu and follow @r_salma_ on Twitter.
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