Tuesday, July 7, 2020
In late June, after three months of near silence on the topic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally weighed in on a question of critical importance to millions of American women and families: How dangerous is the coronavirus for pregnant women and new mothers?
The CDC had been asserting that pregnant women don’t seem to be at higher risk for severe complications from the virus. As recently as late May, a spokesperson told ProPublica, “Current evidence shows pregnant women have the same risk of severe illness from COVID-19 as adults who are not pregnant.”
Then, the agency abruptly changed its tone. In its first examination of U.S. data on COVID-19 in pregnancy, the CDC found that expectant mothers with the virus had a 50% higher chance of being admitted to intensive care and a 70% higher chance of being intubated than nonpregnant women in their childbearing years.
Arizona’s first saliva test – designed by scientists at Arizona State University to make university-wide testing feasible in the fall – already has been administered to more than 6,000 people, according to Vel Murugan, an associate research professor at ASU’s Biodesign Institute. It’s an alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs, which are uncomfortable and can be dangerous to frontline workers.
Today Pima County government announced they contracted Maximus Health & Services, Inc. to boost contact tracing efforts in the region.
Maximus is an outsourcing company that provides business support to government health agencies such as the Pima County Health Department. They will hire about 150 local residents to perform “extensive” contact tracing as directed by the health department, in order to “alert, educate and isolate” individuals who have come in close contact with a person who is COVID-19 positive.
Tags: Pima County , Health Department , COVID19 , Coronavirus , Contact Tracing , Maximus , Theresa Cullen , Image
Although the downtown theatre hasn’t hosted a live performance in months, the Fox Board of Directors has officially decided to suspend programming through December 2020 due to the continued impacts of COVID-19. As of now, scheduled events in 2021 are expected to go forward.
According to a release from the Fox, their Paycheck Protection Program funds are now exhausted, and the theatre is further reducing staff to only four full-time employees – down roughly 40 before the pandemic.
"Such deep staffing reductions are particularly hard because it is people that make the place," said Fox Theatre executive director Bonnie Schock. "The people of Tucson chose to rebuild The Fox 20 years ago. Our dedicated Board, enthusiastic patrons, generous volunteers and tenacious staff have carried that mantle forward. Honestly, it is devastating to see our team disperse. These talented individuals are to be recognized and thanked for all they have done to make The Fox what it is and to advance what it can and will be.”
The Board of Directors also issued the following message: With theatres are closing forever across the nation, employing these strategies now are imperative in ensuring that The Fox has the best possible chance of a strong reopening in the future. The experience of gathering together is central to live performance and the road to recovery for performing arts venues is not a simple V shape. The physical distancing strategies key to fighting the spread of COVID-19 make presenting events at The Fox financially unviable in the coming months.
If you'd like to still support the Fox Theatre, they are hosting two fundraising opportunities on their website:
The Fox Forward: Look to the Future Relief Campaign
Or, apply for a Fox Theatre Membership.
Pima County had 10,184 of the state's 105,094 confirmed cases.
A total of 1,927 people have died after contracting the virus.
Maricopa County has nearly two-thirds of the state's cases, with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases hitting 67,543.
Hospitals remain under pressure. The report shows that 3,356 COVID patients were hospitalized yesterday in the state, more than triple the 1,009 hospitalized on June 1.
A total of 1,385 people visited ERs yesterday.
A total of 869 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday.
With the spread of COVID increasingly out of control in Arizona, some local school districts have announced that they will only offer "distance learning" or online instruction when school starts next month. Unlike in spring, when schools moved online following spring break, districts are planning stricter instructional time designed to mirror traditional in-person classes.
Tucson Unified School District and Sunnyside School District revealed in recent days that they would move to an online-only model, while Catalina Foothills is moving forward with a plan that blends in-person classes and distance learning. Amphi School District and Marana School District had not yet updated their plans as of Monday, July 6.
Monday, July 6, 2020
One week ago, Gov. Doug Ducey announced that Arizona public schools will be allowed to open their doors to students on Monday, Aug. 17. But with COVID-19 cases on the rise, local school districts are not confident that this start date is the real thing.
Two districts, Tucson Unified School District and Sunnyside School District, announced over the holiday weekend that they would begin the school year with an online-only program and only return to having in-person classes once it is safe.
In a message to parents, TUSD Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo said that because of the uncertainty about returning to in-person instruction, all students will begin the school year via remote learning on Monday, Aug. 10. The families who want their children to return to in-person learning can transition to that once it’s safe to do so.
“Although starting this school year remotely is not ideal, we are committed to offering every child quality and rigorous curriculum, five days a week, from our highly qualified teachers,” Trujillo wrote.
Using Zoom and recorded lessons, approved learning programs and offline homework, TUSD’s teachers are aiming to provide as comprehensive a learning experience as possible in a COVID-19 reality. The district is asking parents to register online for each child indicating their choice for either remote learning or on-campus instruction when it’s available. This will help them plan for the best way to reopen schools in the future.
Parents can submit and change their preferences until Saturday, Aug. 1. But once the school year begins, TUSD will create defined intervals when parents can transition their children from one option to another.
TUSD’s Next Steps 2020, which the district is calling “A New Era for Education,” lays out the details for both on-campus and at-home learning for all grades K-12.
Tags: Tucson Unified , Sunnyside , Catalina Foothills , Back to School , Reopening , Remote Learning , Gov Doug Ducey , Image
Pima County had 9,873 of the state's 101,441 confirmed cases.
A total of 1,810 people have died after contracting the virus.
Maricopa County has more than half the state's cases, with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases hitting 64,915.
Hospitals remain under pressure. The report shows that a record 3,212 COVID patients were hospitalized yesterday in the state, more than triple the 1,009 hospitalized on June 1.
A total of 1,306 people visited ERs yesterday.
A total of 1,405 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday.
With the spread of COVID increasingly out of control in Arizona, some local school districts have announced that they will only offer "distance learning" or online instruction when school starts next month. Unlike in spring, when schools moved online following spring break, districts are planning stricter instructional time designed to mirror traditional in-person classes.
Tucson Unified School District announced last week that it would launch online classes for all students starting Aug. 10, with in-person classroom instruction delayed until "when it is deemed safe," according to a letter to parents from TUSD Superintendent Gabrielle Trujillo.
Although Gov. Doug Ducey announced earlier this week that the start of the school year would be moved from Aug. 3 to Aug. 17, Trujillo said that date "may be aspirational."
"Due to this uncertainty, and the importance of creating a stable educational environment for our families and staff, Tucson Unified has determined we will begin all students via Remote Learning on Monday, August 10, 2020 and then transition those interested in an on-campus learning experience when it is deemed safe," Trujillo wrote. "Although starting this school year remotely is not ideal, we are committed to offering every child quality and rigorous curriculum, 5 days a week, from our highly qualified teachers. Instruction will be conducted utilizing teacher zoom lessons, as well as, some recorded lessons and offline homework. Classes will be consistent with real-time classroom instruction and will utilize approved online programs with assessment tools."
Likewise, Sunnyside School District Superintendent Steve Holmes told parents that the district would start online classes on Aug. 5.
Friday, July 3, 2020
Pima County cracked the 9,000-case threshold, with 9,024 of the state's 91,858 confirmed cases.
A total of 1,788 people have died after contracting the virus.
Maricopa County has more than half the state's cases, with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases hitting 57,929.
For the first time, more than 3,000 COVID patients were hospitalized yesterday in the state. This morning's Arizona Department of Health Services report shows that 3,013 Arizonans were hospitalized, nearly triple the 1,009 hospitalized on June 1.
The number of people visiting ERs jumped dramatically yesterday, with 1,847 people seeking emergency rooms. The previous high, set on July 1, was 1,371. Since June 15, the daily number has only dropped below 1,000 twice.
A record number of 741 COVID-19 patients were in ICU beds yesterday, pushing the statewide number of adult intensive care bed in use past the 90 percent marker for the first time.
With the spread of COVID increasingly out of control in Arizona, Tucson Unified School District announced last night that it would launch online classes for all students starting Aug. 10, with in-person classroom instruction delayed until "when it is deemed safe," according to a letter to parents from TUSD Superintendent Gabrielle Trujillo.
Although Gov. Doug Ducey announced earlier this week that the start of the school year would be moved from Aug. 3 to Aug. 17, Trujillo said that date "may be aspirational."
"Due to this uncertainty, and the importance of creating a stable educational environment for our families and staff, Tucson Unified has determined we will begin all students via Remote Learning on Monday, August 10, 2020 and then transition those interested in an on-campus learning experience when it is deemed safe," Trujillo wrote. "Although starting this school year remotely is not ideal, we are committed to offering every child quality and rigorous curriculum, 5 days a week, from our highly qualified teachers. Instruction will be conducted utilizing teacher zoom lessons, as well as, some recorded lessons and offline homework. Classes will be consistent with real-time classroom instruction and will utilize approved online programs with assessment tools."
Read Trujillo's entire letter here.
Thursday, July 2, 2020
- The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona rose past 87,000 as of Thursday, July 2, after the state reported 3,333 new cases this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
- The almighty Loft Cinema continues its series of streaming films this week with 6 new offerings starting July 3: three documentaries, the directorial debut of actor Bill Duke, a raving comedy and an award winning film from South Korea.
- As Arizona broke records Wednesday for new COVID-19 cases and deaths reported in a single day, Vice President Mike Pence flew in to assure Gov. Doug Ducey that the federal government “will spare no expense” in helping the state.
- The monsoon may be the next major player in the Bighorn Fire story. The 118,000-acre fire is now more than half contained after burning across the Catalina Mountains for nearly a month.
- Tommy Fisher billed his new privately funded border wall as the future of deterrence, a quick-to-build steel fortress that spans 3 miles in one of the busiest Border Patrol sectors.
- There’s often not much agreement on news out of Washington, but Arizona business leaders were hard-pressed this week to come up with negatives about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that took effect Wednesday.
- Jaylon Sesay—a.k.a. Prospect Jay—and the Sho Ryders Motorcycle Club are distributing water bottles to Tucson's homeless at several different locations around the Old Pueblo on Sunday, July 5.
Pence’s trip originally included a visit to Tucson and a rally with supporters, but those events were canceled as the vice president continues to tour states hard hit by COVID-19, including Texas last weekend and a trip to Florida on Thursday.
“We say to the people of Arizona, we are with you and we are going to make sure that Arizona has whatever it takes to meet this moment, to slow the spread and flatten the curve to save lives,” Pence told reporters, standing on the tarmac at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
On Wednesday, July 1, the Arizona Department of Health Services reported a record 4,878 new cases of COVID-19 and 88 deaths in the state, bringing total deaths to 1,720. It said 20,151 tests for COVID-19 have been completed in public and private labs in Arizona, and 24.2% of tests have come back positive for the virus that causes the disease.
Pence, in response to calls for more health care workers to relieve those now on the front lines, said he has instructed Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf to send 500 medical personnel to the state, in addition to 62 workers sent to Tucson earlier this week.
“Help is on the way,” Pence said. “We are going to spare no expense to provide the kind of reinforcements that you will need to all across this state should this coronavirus continue to expand in Arizona.”
