Protect yourself.

Protect others.

Help contain the spread of #COVID19.

Wear a mask. #MaskUpAZ pic.twitter.com/jtWuZmyiqF

— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) June 17, 2020

In a reversal of his previous policy, Gov. Doug Ducey announced today that he will allow local jurisdictions to mandate the wearing of face masks in an effort to slow Arizona’s skyrocketing spread of COVID-19.

Ducey, who wore a mask before beginning the press conference for the first time, said different areas of the state were facing different circumstances, so he was relaxing his emergency regulations that limited the actions of local communities. He said it would be up to local communities to set up rules and penalties.

Tucson officials, including Mayor Regina Romero and Councilmember Steve Kozachik, had been asking Ducey to allow them to set local standards in accordance with CDC guidelines. Earlier today, Romero said she had asked City Attorney Michael Rankin to develop a legal strategy to require masks.

Ducey, who had not emphasized the wearing of face masks before last week, recommended that people should “act responsibly” and wear the masks when out in public.

“Every Arizonan should wear a face mask,” Ducey said. “It’s the smart thing to do.”

Following Ducey's announcement, Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson said she believed the county should mandate the wearing of face masks.

Ducey also said his administration would be providing more guidance to businesses to prevent large gatherings.

Ducey's action comes as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona soared to nearly 41,000 as of today after the state reported 1,827 new cases reported this morning.

Pima County had 4,385 of the state's 40,924 confirmed cases, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. That's more than double the 20,123 confirmed cases the state had on June 1.

A total of 1,239 people have died after contracting the virus, including 229 in Pima County.

Maricopa County has more than half the state's cases, with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases hitting 22,272.

Because symptoms can take as long as two weeks to appear after exposure to the virus (while some people can remain entirely asymptomatic), health officials continue to urge the public to avoid unnecessary trips and gatherings of more than 10 people, especially if you have underlying health conditions, and have advised people to cover their faces with masks in public.

This is a developing story with newly added reaction from local officials.

Here's a look at the stories we covered today:

• The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona jumped past 39,000 as of Tuesday, June 16, after the state reported a record new 2,392 new cases reported this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
• The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum began a phased reopening today, June 16, with new safety precautions based on the Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
• The Pima County Sheriff's Department has issued a "GO" order to the areas of Mt. Lemmon and Mt. Bigelow north of Organization Ridge Road, including Summerhaven, due to the encroaching Bighorn Fire, now nearly 16,000 acres.
• The Trump administration has unveiled its furthest-reaching plan yet to change asylum law in the U.S., redefining the meaning of “persecution” and raising the bar for refugees seeking protection under the Convention Against Torture, among other changes.
• The Supreme Court ruled Monday that the Civil Rights Act protections against “sex discrimination” also protect gay or transgender employees from discrimination, even if they are not specifically mentioned in the 1964 law.

Do you and your family need a helping hand to fill out your pantry and refrigerator? Look no further than The Salvation Army Tucson Amphi Corps Community Center, 218 E. Prince Road, where free emergency food boxes will be distributed Tuesday afternoon.

The Salvation Army Tucson Amphi Corps and Fresh Bites Foods are teaming up for the program, which takes place Tuesday, June 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed between noon and 1 p.m.) Families will receive USDA food boxes of dairy and produce.

Local financial firm Hughes Federal Credit Union recently earned awards for its website, inclusivity initiatives and marketing strategies by Progress Software and the Credit Union National  Association, the company announced Monday.

Hughes earned the 2020 Progress Sitefinity Website of the Year Award in the financial services category. The awards recognize websites powered by Progress Sitefinity for implementing strong user experiences and innovative methods.

Nominations began in February, and the winners were announced in late May. Other winners include Mapei (multisite), Kirby Risk (Ecommerce), and Murdoch University (Education).

“Our new website was designed to provide a fast and robust user experience on any device,” said Hughes Digital and Creative Marketing Manager Kerry Graham. “We integrated multiple systems to enable account and loan applications, dynamic rate controls, and provide a platform for future innovation. In addition, Sitefinity’s multilingual capability allowed us to create a Spanish version of the website for our diverse member demographic.”

Sundt Construction Co. and its partner Kiewit picked up an award for their joint efforts on the Ina Road Traffic Interchange earlier this month, the companies announced in a press release. The project, which shut down access to Interstate 10 from West Ina Road for more than two years, wrapped up last April.

The project was recently awarded the honor of 2020 Public Works Project of the Year by the Arizona Chapter of the American Public Works Association in the $75 million-plus category, as well as the 2019 Arizona Department of Transportation Partnering Award.

“Sundt is extremely grateful to continue to receive awards on this project,” said Sundt Project Manager Ryan Cannon. “Our team’s execution of this project is a true example of how planning, attention to safety, and quality can result in a successful project.”

The $128 million interchange project included reconstruction of Ina Road, a four-lane overpass spanning the Union Pacific tracks, the interstate and a separate bridge over the Santa Cruz River overpass at I-10, as well as street improvements, channel construction, drainage, retaining walls, signals, lighting and utility relocation.

If you have kids, summer in Arizona usually contains many trips to the pool, splash pads, museums, or summer camp. This year has been a bit different. Although splash pads are now open in some local communities, pools are not. Many summer programs have been completely canceled, and most public spaces still remain closed.

Something you can do is you can enjoy the Arizona Science Center after it opens to the public on June 20, that is if you don't mind a quick jaunt up to Phoenix to experience it. If you've been before, though, expect some changes.

Because kids and germs don't mix very well (or maybe too well, depending on your perspective) the usual open format of the center is a definite no-go. Instead, they now have four different experiences for you and your children to enjoy. Here's how it will feel to experience it.

PHOENIX – Customs and Border Protection officials spent funds that were supposed to go to medical care and migrant processing facilities to pay for computer upgrades, canine units, ATVs and other items instead, a new government report shows.

The Government Accountability Office said Thursday that CBP violated the law when it took money allocated specifically for “consumables and medical care” and “migrant care and processing facilities” and used it for dirt bikes, boats and janitorial services.

Calls seeking comment from CBP and the Department of Homeland Security were not immediately returned Friday. But critics of the agency called the “spending spree … unacceptable.”

“To be perfectly honest, we were very disturbed, but not surprised,” said Vicky Gaubeca, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition. “When this funding came up last year, we actually flagged with several congressional offices that we didn’t trust that CBP would use the money for any type of humanitarian assistance.”

Employees and members of the public now have to wear masks when inside of Pima County facilities, including common areas, lobbies, elevators, and where physical distancing is not possible or there are no protective barriers.

Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry announced the new health and safety procedures in a June 11 memo.

The county will provide cloth masks for employees, and disposable paper masks for the public and vendors. Masks will not be required in parking garages as long as physical distancing is maintained.

According to Huckelberry’s memo, the changes were put in place “due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, and to prevent the spread of the disease.”

PHOENIX – It happened in March, in the middle of the night. Jeff Zhou, a teaching assistant at Arizona State University, was asleep when he heard a kick on his apartment door and then a shouted slur: “Chinese virus!”

The 30-year-old international student from China reported the incident, but it has stuck with him even months later.

“I’m confused why they’d treat me like that,” Zhou said.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its link to Wuhan, the Chinese industrial city where the virus was first detected in December, has prompted harassment and racial violence against Asian Americans and concerns among experts of longer-lasting effects on emotional and mental health.

Cynthia Choi, co-executive director of the San Francisco group Chinese for Affirmative Action, recalls one mother who contacted the group to report her child was being bullied at school and called “coronavirus.”

“She said that she noticed that her child was very depressed and very quiet and said that she did not want to be Asian,” Choi recalled. “So obviously there is a mental health impact.”

After battling the Bighorn Fire on the slopes of the Catalina Mountains, fire crews will experience the highest temperatures yet today, at 107 degrees. This gusty and hot weather is one of the main reasons the Bighorn Fire is so difficult to manage; it has remained at 10 percent contained for multiple days and has grown almost a thousand acres every day since a lightning storm first ignited it on June 5.