Tuesday, October 6, 2020
The healthcare advocacy organization Protect Our Care took a “virtual bus stop” in Arizona on Tuesday to advocate for protecting the Affordable Care Act and to bring awareness to Republican-led efforts to dismantle it.
The group usually tours the nation on a physical bus, but this year, they’re hosting virtual meetings with elected leaders and health care advocates throughout 16 states to discuss present dangers to Americans’ access to healthcare and how this is complicated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Democratic Rep. Tom O’Halleran kicked off the presentation of live speakers. He told a story about one of the first bills he tried to pass in Congress that addressed the coverage gap in Medicare drug plans. When he went to present his bill, the chairman of the rules committee set four large piles of paper on the front desk — the four healthcare plans the committee had already written since 2012.
Now, O’Halleran supports the Obama-era healthcare plan and believes “people really count on the ACA,” and that getting rid of it without a clear replacement could mean further digression in healthcare and put 300,000 Arizonans with pre-existing conditions at risk.
“These are costly issues that involve life or death situations for many people,” O’Halleran said. “This is not about moving America forward, but moving America backward. If you’re going to go after [the ACA], have a better plan, or at least have a plan. And they don’t have any of that.”
After a pause for the pandemic, debt buyers are back in the courts, suing debtors by the thousands.
Earlier this year, the pandemic swept across the country, killing 100,000 Americans by the spring, shuttering businesses and schools, and forcing people into their homes. It was a great time to be a debt collector.
In August, Encore Capital, the largest debt buyer in the country, announced that it had doubled its previous record for earnings in a quarter. It primarily had the CARES Act to thank: The bill delivered hundreds of billions of dollars worth of stimulus checks and bulked-up unemployment benefits to Americans, while easing pressures on them by halting foreclosures, evictions and student loan payments. There was no ban on collections of old credit card bills, Encore’s specialty.
At the same time, the pandemic compelled households to cut spending. Finding themselves with enough money to settle old debts, people responded to collectors’ calls and letters. Debt-buying executives couldn’t help marveling at their good fortune. All this created “a perfect storm from a cash perspective,” the CEO of Portfolio Recovery Associates, Encore’s main competitor, told Wall Street analysts.
After its record second quarter, analysts expect Encore to blow past $200 million in profit this year and reward stockholders with 40% earnings growth compared with last year. Portfolio Recovery is set for similar growth. The share prices of both have soared off their early April lows.Tags: business , foreclosure , covid , Image
PHOENIX – Colorectal cancer has received a great deal of attention since actor Chadwick Boseman lost his four-year battle to the disease in August. It’s the second-leading cause of cancer death among Native Americans, prompting calls for increased screenings to improve detection and treatment of colorectal disease.
Donald Haverkamp, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said many factors play a role in the number of cases among Native Americans, including lack of access to health care or insurance, increased natural bacteria on some reservations and diet and lifestyle.
“Cultural beliefs can come into play as well,” he said. “There are tribes, for example, that don’t even want to mention the word cancer, for fear of bringing on that disease, bringing it onto yourself by mentioning it.”
After school hours on Monday, Oct. 6, dozens of members of the Tucson Unified School District gathered in front of the district headquarters to protest planned school reopenings.
In a meeting last month, the school board voted to move forward with a hybrid learning model beginning Monday, Oct. 19. However several teachers and staff are demanding in-person classes to be delayed until classroom gatherings are safe, citing Pima County Health Department’s recommendation that there should be no groups more than 10.
The TUSD Board is scheduled to meet tonight to determine the next step in reopening schools. The district's plan, as it stands now, is to have students attend schools two days a week in separate groups and work independently at home or elsewhere on the other three days.
“This is a public expression of our sentiment: We simply don’t want to reopen until it’s safe,” said Marea Jenness, a science teacher at Tucson High. “I don’t think the masks cut it. In my opinion, we should wait until there’s a vaccine.”
While PCHD's COVID-19 Progress Report indicates the majority of local health criteria are making progress or have been met, the demonstrators argue social distancing and telecommuting remain vital to stop the virus’ spread.
Demonstrators displayed a quote from one Pueblo High School student: “I miss my friends and remote learning is hard! But I don’t want to risk infecting my family. I couldn’t live with the guilt.”
Jenness, who has a preexisting lung condition, says she received a letter from the school district acknowledging her condition, but stating she should prepare for schools to reopen regardless.
“We are talking about human lives, not just a number,” Jenness said. “It’s mostly a case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing, which can happen in a large district like ours… We’re talking about potential funerals for teachers and students.”
Pima County had seen 26,052 of the state’s 221,934 confirmed cases.
With six new deaths today, a total of 5,713 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 628 deaths in Pima County, according to the Oct. 6 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases continues to decline from July peaks. ADHS reported that as of Oct. 5, 665 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state, a jump of 98 from yesterday. The number of hospitalized COVID patients peaked at 3,517 on July 13.
A total of 644 people visited emergency rooms on Oct. 5 with COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.
A total of 138 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Oct. 5. 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 a Sept. 29 report from the Pima County Health Department. With the return of UA students, local numbers ticked upward in September but have began to decline again. For the week ending Sept. 5, a total of 859 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 12, 1,102 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 19, 1,203 cases were reported; and for the week ending Sept. 26, 470 cases were reported. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Deaths in Pima County are down from a peak of 55 in the week ending July 4 to 13 in the week ending Aug. 22, 10 in the week ending Aug. 29, zero in the week ending Sept. 5, two in the week ending Sept. 12 and two in the week ending Sept. 19. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Hospitalization peaked the week ending July 18 with 234 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, 25 patients were admitted to Pima County hospitals; in the week ending Sept. 12, 19 patients were admitted; in the week ending Sept. 19, 14 patients were admitted; and in the week ending Sept. 26, five people were admitted. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Campus cases in decline but UA officials stress need to stay vigilant
This week, the University of Arizona will remain in phase one of their staged plan for reopening but anticipates moving into phase two of the plan next week, UA President Dr. Robert C. Robbins said in a news conference yesterday.
Phase one allows students to attend essential in-person classes only, but the university plans to add in-person instruction for classes of 30 or fewer students the week of Oct. 12.
According to Robbins, about 2,500 additional students will have the option to attend in-person classes, and the new opportunity only applies to those who signed up for in-person classes during the registration period at the beginning of the school year.
Phase 2 was originally set to begin on Aug. 31, but the high numbers of positive coronavirus cases delayed the step toward having more in-person classes on campus.
Monday, October 5, 2020
The announcement comes days after UA announced the team’s delayed 2020 Pac-12 football schedule on Saturday, Oct. 3. The Wildcats plan to start pre-season practice on Friday, Oct. 9.
“My positive test result, while a shock, is a stark reminder of how we must all remain vigilant in our focus on handwashing, physical distancing and face coverings,” Sumlin said in a statement released by UA. “I am feeling well and will be engaged in our ramp-up activities on a virtual basis until I complete the isolation protocol.”
The university has begun contact tracing protocols and has determined “the test result is not related to any team activities and no close contacts were identified within the football program”, according to the school’s press release.
“I look forward to being back on field in time to begin preparing for the season,” Sumlin said in the release.
The Wildcats are scheduled to play their season opener against the University of Utah Utes on Nov. 7.
Tags: ua football , sumlin , covid , Image
This week, the University of Arizona will remain in phase one of their staged plan for reopening but anticipates moving into phase two of the plan next week, UA President Dr. Robert C. Robbins said in a news conference this morning.
Phase one allows students to attend essential in-person classes only, but the university plans to add in-person instruction for classes of 30 or fewer students the week of Oct. 12.
According to Robbins, about 2,500 additional students will have the option to attend in-person classes, and the new opportunity only applies to those who signed up for in-person classes during the registration period at the beginning of the school year.
Phase 2 was originally set to begin on Aug. 31, but the high numbers of positive coronavirus cases delayed the step toward having more in-person classes on campus.
Since Aug. 24, about 6,200 UA students have attended essential in-person courses.
Robbins said the university has no recorded cases of COVID-19 transmission within a classroom or laboratory setting, but they will only move into phase two if public health metrics continue a positive trend.
“This strategic reintroduction of more students to a university campus is a part of layered mitigation,” Pima County Health Department Director Dr. Theresa Cullen said at the press conference. “If the numbers go up, we will not support more introduction of students on campus. Our hope is in this next 7-10 days, we will see those numbers stabilize.”
Over the 10-day window from Sept. 23-Oct. 2, the university reported 181 positive coronavirus tests for a positivity rate of 2.3%. This is an improvement from the previous 10-day period, which saw a COVID-19 positivity rate of 7.9%.
As of Friday evening, the university had 68 dorm students in isolation housing and 450 beds available.
Robbins partly credits the decrease in cases to the university’s voluntary 14-day self-quarantine program in which students were asked to stay home and avoid unnecessary trips, which ended Sept. 29. However, he warns the quarantine period may be restored if the number of coronavirus cases rises.
“If noncompliance remains a significant issue or if we see an increase in cases, it may need to be reinstated and we’re not going to be able to progress to this stage two that we’re thinking about doing next week,” Robbins said.
With 316 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 221,000 as of Monday, Oct. 5, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County had seen 25,980 of the state’s 221,070 confirmed cases.
With 1 new death today, a total of 5,707 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 627 deaths in Pima County, according to the Oct. 5 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases continues to decline from July peaks. ADHS reported that as of Oct. 4, 567 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state. The number of hospitalized COVID patients peaked at 3,517 on July 13.
A total of 706 people visited emergency rooms on Oct. 4 with COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7.
A total of 134 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Oct. 4. 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 a Sept. 29 report from the Pima County Health Department. While a vocal minority continues to insist that masks do no good, the spread of the virus began to decline within weeks of Pima County’s mask mandate, as more people began wearing them in public, although the level of new cases has creeped back up in recent weeks with the return of UA students. For the week ending Sept. 5, a total of 859 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 12, 1,102 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 19, 1,203 cases were reported; and for the week ending Sept. 26, 470 cases were reported. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Deaths in Pima County are down from a peak of 55 in the week ending July 4 to 13 in the week ending Aug. 22, 10 in the week ending Aug. 29, zero in the week ending Sept. 5, two in the week ending Sept. 12 and two in the week ending Sept. 19. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Hospitalization peaked the week ending July 18 with 234 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, 25 patients were admitted to Pima County hospitals; in the week ending Sept. 12, 19 patients were admitted; in the week ending Sept. 19, 14 patients were admitted; and in the week ending Sept. 26, five people were admitted. (Numbers are subject to revision.)
Trump remains in hospital
President Donald Trump remained hospitalized on Monday after being taken by helicopter to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday, Oct. 2.
Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis has forced him off the campaign trail, including the cancelation of a planned trip to Tucson today.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden plans to be in Arizona, where he has been leading in polls, later this week.
WASHINGTON – News that President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19 led to well-wishes from Arizona lawmakers Friday, a scrambling of the president’s planned visits to the state next week – and some grumbling about the lack of safeguards at previous Trump rallies.
The White House announced Friday morning that Trump and first lady Melania Trump would be quarantining at the White House after both tested positive for the virus, which a staffer had contracted earlier in the week.
By Friday afternoon, doctors had transferred Trump to Walter Reed Medical Center out of “an abundance of caution.” He was expected to remain there for several days and was reported to be “fatigued but in good spirits.”
Saturday, October 3, 2020
