Tuesday, October 20, 2020
With 1,040 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases closed in on 233,000 as of Tuesday, Oct. 20, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County had seen 27,019 of the state’s 232,937 confirmed cases.
With seven new deaths yesterday, a total of 5,837 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 634 deaths in Pima County, according to the Oct. 20 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases has declined from July peaks but has ticked upward in recent weeks. ADHS reported that as of Oct. 19, 777 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state, the highest that number has been since Aug. 28, when 812 people were hospitalized. That number peaked with 3,517 hospitalized COVID patients on July 13.
A total of 747 people visited emergency rooms on Oct. 19 with COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.
A total of 170 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Oct. 19. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.
On a week-by-week basis in Pima County, the number of positive COVID tests peaked the week ending July 4 with 2,453 cases, according to an Oct. 16 report from the Pima County Health Department.
After a bump following the return of UA students, cases on a week-to-week basis are on the decline. For the week ending Sept. 19, 1,225 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 26, 596 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 3, 523 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 10, 466 cases were reported.
Deaths in Pima County are down from a peak of 54 in the week ending July 4 to 10 in the week ending Sept. 5, one in the week ending Sept. 12, three in the week ending Sept. 19, four in the week ending Sept. 26 and three in the week ending Oct. 3.
Hospitalization peaked the week ending July 18 with 221 COVID patients admitted to Pima County hospitals, but it has been on the rise in recent weeks. In the week ending Sept. 12, 24 patients were admitted; in the week ending Sept. 19, 17 patients were admitted; in the week ending Sept. 26, 13 people were admitted; in the week ending Oct. 3, 20 patients were admitted; and in the week ending Oct. 10, 24 people were admitted. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
UA increases number of in-person classes as campus-area cases remain low
The University of Arizona will allow more students to return to campus this week as metrics tracking the spread of coronavirus remain low, UA President Robert C. Robbins said in a news conference Monday, Oct. 19.
Continuing phase two of its reopening plan, the university will allow classes of 50 or fewer to return the week of Oct. 26, raising last week’s maximum of 30 students.
From Oct. 8-17, UA found 44 positive coronavirus cases after administering 6,867 tests for a positivity rate of 0.6%, the same rate the university reported last week.
“We have five weeks before the break. I’m very proud of the way the university has risen to the challenge so far, but we cannot become complacent,” Robbins said.
Monday, October 19, 2020
The University of Arizona will allow more students to return to campus this week as metrics tracking the spread of coronavirus remain low, UA President Robert C. Robbins said in a news conference Monday, Oct. 19.
Continuing phase two of its reopening plan, the university will allow classes of 50 or fewer to return the week of Oct. 26, raising last week’s maximum of 30 students.
From Oct. 8-17, UA found 44 positive coronavirus cases after administering 6,867 tests for a positivity rate of 0.6%, the same rate the university reported last week.
“We have five weeks before the break. I’m very proud of the way the university has risen to the challenge so far, but we cannot become complacent,” Robbins said.
With fall break approaching Nov. 26, UA is taking proactive measures to minimize the potential spread of COVID-19 as students travel outside the area.
On Nov. 6, the university will begin a “testing blitz” by appointment only. Students who plan to travel over break and have not received a positive coronavirus test over the past 90 days are “strongly encouraged” to get tested.
All main campus students are required to take a coronavirus antigen test and complete a survey with their fall break traveling plans. Those who travel outside the Tucson area over break are encouraged to complete the semester remotely, according to Robbins.
However, UA students won’t get a similar week off in the spring. Instead of spring break, the university will have five separate “reading days” with no classes held.
“It’s a traumatic step to say we’re not going to have spring break next year, but it’s a really important step,” UA Provost Liesl Folks said. “The CDC is unambiguous about the fact that travel is one of the core ways that we spread the virus around the country.”
Reentry Task Force Director Dr. Richard Carmona highlighted the university’s 4.7% coronavirus positivity rating for their total testing window since the beginning of August. He said although the “desired number” is below 5%, the university shouldn’t get too comfortable.
During the past week, the university’s CART team, a collaboration with the UA and Tucson police departments that looks for noncompliance to COVID-19 precautions, responded to 15 incidents.
“We are happy that the intense public health practices we are inspiring others to adopt in our campus, in our community, are actually doing the job, but we got to push even harder now,” Carmona said.
Friday, October 16, 2020
PHOENIX – In the first two weeks of the high school football season, the 6A conference has seen a high volume of blowouts. Twenty-five out of 34 matchups in the first two weeks in the 6A conference have been won by at least 17 points.
You can probably blame the pandemic.
Week two saw multiple head-scratching beatdowns, including Chandler’s 64-0 shutout of Pinnacle, Liberty’s 30-0 shutout of Red Mountain and Hamilton’s 64-22 smackdown of Perry. Pinnacle and Perry were 2019 state quarterfinalists in the Open Division and 6A conference, respectively, and Red Mountain came up six points short of the 2019 6A Conference state title.
Coach Rick Garretson credited the Chandler Wolves’ outscoring of their first two opponents 108-10 to his team’s length of preparation in the offseason. Many other schools have had less time to prepare.
Tags: high schools , high school football , sports , covid , Image
With 738 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 229,000 as of Friday, Oct. 16, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County had seen 26,769 of the state’s 229,486 confirmed cases.
With 17 new deaths yesterday, a total of 5,806 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 633 deaths in Pima County, according to the Oct. 16 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases has declined from July peaks but has ticked upward this week. ADHS reported that as of Oct. 15, 747 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state. That number peaked with 3,517 hospitalized COVID patients on July 13.
A total of 801 people visited emergency rooms on Oct. 15 with COVID symptoms. That number, which peaked at 2,008 on July 7, hadn’t climbed above 800 since Sept. 21.
A total of 167 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Oct. 15. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.
On a week-by-week basis in Pima County, the number of positive COVID tests peaked the week ending July 4 with 2,453 cases, according to an Oct. 7 report from the Pima County Health Department. For the week ending Sept. 5, a total of 863 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 12, 1,105 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 19, 1,219 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 26, 582 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 3, 472 cases were reported. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Deaths in Pima County are down from a peak of 54 in the week ending July 4 to 10 in the week ending Sept. 5, one in the week ending Sept. 12, three in the week ending Sept. 19, two in the week ending Sept. 26 and one in the week ending Oct. 3. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Hospitalization peaked the week ending July 18 with 221 COVID patients admitted to Pima County hospitals. In the week ending Aug. 29, 37 COVID patients were admitted to Pima County hospitals; in the week ending Sept. 5, 26 patients were admitted to Pima County hospitals; in the week ending Sept. 12, 23 patients were admitted; in the week ending Sept. 19, 14 patients were admitted; in the week ending Sept. 26, 11 people were admitted and in the week ending Oct. 3, 17 patients were admitted. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Fourth Avenue Winter Street Fair canceled
The Fourth Avenue Merchants Association is canceling their annual winter street fair due to a new special event permit application which would leave little time to properly plan the event.
New guidelines released by the City of Tucson and Pima County last week state that all special events of 50 people or more held in unincorporated Pima County will need to apply with the Pima County Health Department. The special event application turnaround time is between 14 to 21 days, according to an Oct. 9 email sent by the county.
“We can’t do anything without proper permittaing,” said Monique Vallery of the Fourth Avenue Merchants Association. “We want to produce the safest COVID adherent event as possible and time just isn’t in our favor.”
Thursday, October 15, 2020
PHOENIX – A prominent health expert expressed worry Wednesday about rising COVID-19 numbers across Arizona, saying the trend is reminiscent of early summer conditions that preceded a spike in cases and rollback of measures to reopen businesses.
“This is a moment to sort of stop and take measure and think hard about: What can we do to prevent this?” said Joshua LaBaer, executive director of Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, which is tracking case trends across Arizona’s 15 counties, as well as in the state overall and the nation.
LaBaer said 902 new cases were reported Wednesday morning by the Arizona Department of Health Services, and “we haven’t seen that in a while.” One week ago, that daily number of new cases was 786.
Cases are rising in Maricopa, Yuma, Navajo and Coconino counties, among others, he said.
“In terms of numbers of new cases, we are on a path headed toward exponential growth,” LaBaer said. “The tricky thing about exponential growth is that it doesn’t look like it’s growing very fast at first. The numbers day over day don’t look like they’re big changes. But then all of a sudden, it really can take off. And so I am concerned.”
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
The Pima County Health Department will be opening a new COVID-19 testing site downtown this Friday, Oct. 16. The new Downtown Tucson Testing Center will be located at 88 E. Broadway Blvd., on the southwest corner of Broadway and Sixth Ave. Testing will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Testing is available without an appointment, or by appointment at pima.gov/covid19testing.
With workday testing available around lunch time, the county health department hopes this new site will serve as a resource for downtown employees. As with other county testing locations, the tests will be conducted by Paradigm Laboratories, and results will be available online in 72 hours or less.
“Quick and accessible testing is a key factor in helping businesses protect their employees and patrons as the pandemic continues,” said PCHD director Dr. Theresa Cullen in a press release. “We want to do all that we can to support businesses as they get back on their feet.”
Tuesday, October 13, 2020
With 683 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases closed in on 227,000 as of Tuesday, Oct. 13, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County had seen 26,516 of the state’s 226,734 confirmed cases.
A total of 5,767 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 633 deaths in Pima County, according to the Oct. 13 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases continues to decline from July peaks. ADHS reported that as of Oct. 12, 667 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state. That number peaked with 3,517 hospitalized COVID patients on July 13.
A total of 710 people visited emergency rooms on Oct. 12 with COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.
A total of 155 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Oct. 12. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13.
On a week-by-week basis in Pima County, the number of positive COVID tests peaked the week ending July 4 with 2,453 cases, according to an Oct. 7 report from the Pima County Health Department. For the week ending Sept. 5, a total of 863 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 12, 1,105 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 19, 1,219 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 26, 582 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 3, 472 cases were reported. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Deaths in Pima County are down from a peak of 54 in the week ending July 4 to 10 in the week ending Sept. 5, one in the week ending Sept. 12, three in the week ending Sept. 19, two in the week ending Sept. 26 and one in the week ending Oct. 3. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Hospitalization peaked the week ending July 18 with 221 COVID patients admitted to Pima County hospitals. In the week ending Aug. 29, 37 COVID patients were admitted to Pima County hospitals; in the week ending Sept. 5, 26 patients were admitted to Pima County hospitals; in the week ending Sept. 12, 23 patients were admitted; in the week ending Sept. 19, 14 patients were admitted; in the week ending Sept. 26, 11 people were admitted and in the week ending Oct. 3, 17 patients were admitted. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Cases down near campus, more in-person classes this week
The University of Arizona will allow students to attend in-person classes of 30 students or fewer this week, UA President Robert C. Robbins said in a news conference Monday, Oct. 12.
The change will bring 1,500 more students to campus every week, and classes will continue “if and only if” public health data gauging the spread of coronavirus in the county permits, Robbins said.
Monday, October 12, 2020
As the end of the global pandemic continues to lag into the distant future, local businesses are gaming out on how to reach customers effectively yet safely. Startup Tucson, a nonprofit broadly focused on enhancing the Southern Arizona economy through increasing entrepreneur quality, quantity and diversity, has established digital programming to mentor experienced entrepreneurs as well as first-time founders. Startup Tucson’s classes cover online commerce as well as help for entrepreneurs navigating the first steps and risks associated with starting a business.
A new five-part Startup Tucson series starting on Oct. 13, Startup Fundamentals, encompasses these key points. From the start of the program, participants will learn the difference between what it means to an “intentional entrepreneur” and “accidental entrepreneur,” according to Liz Pocock, CEO of Startup Tucson.
“A lot of things are changing in terms of customer behavior," Pocock said. "You’re seeing people interact differently with products online, you’re seeing people interact differently with products in person, so I think now more than ever, it is really important to understand who your customer is and what problem you’re solving for them.”
Pocock explained that entrepreneurs will also learn about the “Lean Business Model Canvas,” which consists of developing a detailed but concise one-page business plan. The business plan is meant to help entrepreneurs understand what risks may arise in launching their business, who their target customers are and what issues they are looking to solve for those customers. Then, modifications can be made to the one-page business plan as the entrepreneur engages in more market research and analysis of competitors.
Additionally, Pocock said that entrepreneurs will learn about customer customer communication skills, figure out the needs of customers and choose the most cost-effective ways to provide the most suitable products.
A customer discovery tool that will be integrated into the lessons is a process Pocock simply calls “experimentation.” This process is meant to help entrepreneurs find the least expensive and least resource-intensive tool possible to reach customers and validate that a product is of interest to them. For example, a business may post a webpage about a product and attach a poll asking what customers think about it, which would be a cheap way to quickly discover how much of a need there is for the product.
“One of the things we try to help founders understand is that sometimes you can validate your market before you spend all of this funding into it,” Pocock said.
Lastly, Startup Fundamentals will cover some entrepreneurial finance basics as well as business basics such as an overview of possible registrations needed, deciding between being a corporation, LLC, or sole proprietorship and dealing with business law and accounting.
At the end, entrepreneurs will compose short presentations to give to the Startup Tucson team and other mentors to help develop a solid pitch of what their business is.
This program is open to any type of business. Pocock explained that even though it will be especially beneficial to first-time founders, it is also meant to assist entrepreneurs who may have had to start their businesses quickly in the past without having all of the foundational knowledge needed. Another type of entrepreneur Pocock referred to, is the type that has been in operation for a while but is now looking to pivot. This could be for example, somebody who has only sold products in-person, and now must shift to fully online.
Pocock believes that this program is especially beneficial during times of COVID-19 because of the rate that the business world is changing. She also explained that despite some of the negative effects of COVID on the economy and the entrepreneurial ecosystem, now actually is a great time to start a business and propel it into the local economy.
“Entrepreneurs are very very important to our local economy,” Pocock said. “I think we’re going to see a return to localism and we’re going to see a return to wanting to shop in our community, so if you’ve ever thought about launching a business for Tucsonans, now is the time to explore that.”
