Let's close out this Tuesday with a look at what we covered today.

• The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona reached 14,566, with the death toll now topping 700 as of Tuesday, May 19, according to the morning report from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
• Following last week’s sold-out performance by The Tributaries, the Gaslight Music Hall in Oro Valley is expanding this week’s drive-in concert to two shows.
• If you have a child at home who is waiting to break out of isolation and have a little fun this summer, look no further than the Tucson Museum of Art’s art camp—registration for which is now open.
• Downtown Tucson Partnership’s Clean and Safe Team are COVID-19-free after undergoing tests provided by El Rio Health, the organization announced Tuesday.
• As the nation remains focused on COVID-19, the U.S. government has aggressively begun to rush the deportations of some of the most vulnerable migrant children in its care.
• Contact tracing is a public health strategy that has been used successfully to combat infectious disease outbreaks across the globe, from the 1930s, when it helped get rampant syphilis under control in the United States, to the 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa.

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Click here to read their biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

I want you to mentally prepare yourself for a phone call that you could receive sometime over the course of this pandemic: in the next few months or year.

Your phone might ring, and when you pick it up, you may hear someone say, “Hi, I’m calling from the health department.” After verifying your identity, the person may say something like, “I’m afraid we have information that you were in close contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus.”

The person calling is what’s known as a contact tracer. As most states begin to lift restrictions on movement and people once more start to eat in restaurants, work in offices and get on public transit, these phone calls will become more frequent. State public health departments are hiring thousands of these workers, and experts are calling for more than 100,000 contact tracers to be deployed across America.

I can only imagine how I would feel if I got a call telling me that I had been in close contact with a COVID-19 patient — shocked, a little scared and possibly a bit in denial. But after spending a week talking to contact tracing experts across the country, and taking an online course as well, I think I’d also feel one more thing: empowered. Here’s why.

Contact Tracing Will Help Us Reopen Safely

Downtown Tucson Partnership’s Clean and Safe Team are COVID-19-free after undergoing tests provided by El Rio Health, the organization announced Tuesday.

All 23 members of the group were tested last Thursday. The team, affectionately known as the “Purple People,” provides security and maintenance services to the Business Improvement District downtown. The group also acts as ambassadors to local businesses and visitors. During COVID-19, the team has also worked to remind people of social distancing procedures and educate homeless individuals about available resources.

“We’re so grateful to El Rio Health and all the amazing health-care workers, first responders, and other essential personnel who bravely provide COVID-19 testing and immediate treatment for those with the virus,” said Kathleen Eriksen, DTP President and CEO, in a statement. “El Rio Health has given our team peace of mind so we can continue caring for downtown, creating a welcoming, safe, and beautiful environment for Tucsonans when they are ready to return.”

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona reached 14,566, with the death toll now topping 700 as of Tuesday, May 19, according to the morning report from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Pima County had 1,888 confirmed cases.

The coronavirus had killed 704 people statewide, including 158 in Pima County, according to the report.

In Maricopa County, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases had risen to 7,482.

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 and have advised people to cover their faces with masks in public.

Arizona's stay-at-home order expired at the end of Friday, May 15. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced last week that gyms, pools and movie theaters can now reopen. Ducey also invited major-league sports to play in Arizona, although he said it would have to be without fans in the audience.

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As Monday comes to a close, let's take a look at some of the stories we covered for you today.

• The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona topped 14,000 as of Monday, May 18, jumping by more than 1,000 cases since Friday, according to the morning report from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
• Floaters are common in hospitals, nursing homes and pharmacies, and they play a critical role in making sure that these facilities have enough staff to properly care for patients. But in a pandemic, workers who pitch in at multiple sites could be at higher risk of both contracting and spreading the coronavirus, forming an overlooked link in the chain of transmission.
• If there’s any doubt that wildfire poses a high risk to property in Arizona, the U.S. Forest Service would like to paint a different picture – in blazing reds and flaming yellows.
• An Omaha, Nebraska-based private jet company whose principal owner donated generously to Donald Trump and Republicans ahead of the 2016 election received $20 million in taxpayer aid from the federal bailout package passed in March.
• The Pima County Board of Supervisors are allowing the public to attend and speak at tomorrow's meeting but attendees will need to follow new COVID-19 guidelines.
  
• As if fighting fires wasn’t dangerous enough, firefighters now have to worry about COVID-19 while they’re on the job, making for what fire officials say will be the “most challenging season we’re going to have.”
  
• Stephan Lewandowsky studies the way people think, and in particular, why they engage in conspiracy theories.
• The Pima County Sheriff’s Department is looking for any information leading to the location of Martin Valenzuela, 60, who was last seen around noon on Monday.
• As if fighting fires wasn’t dangerous enough, firefighters now have to worry about COVID-19 while they’re on the job, making for what fire officials say will be the “most challenging season we’re going to have.”
• The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona recently received a leg up from Crest Insurance in the form of a $35,000 check.
  
• Hikers will be required to wear face masks and stay at least six feet apart from other visitors to Tumamoc Hill once the popular outdoor attraction reopens Memorial Day, next Monday, May 25.
  
• Despite news of a filing for bankruptcy protection and a national pandemic, JCPenney will reopen its Tucson store Wednesday, May 20, the company announced Monday.
• Tucson rock band The Living Breathing recently released a music video for their song "Take It Easy," which was originally released on their 2019 album What Is Me?

Hikers will be required to wear face masks and stay at least six feet apart from other visitors to Tumamoc Hill once the popular outdoor attraction reopens Memorial Day, next Monday, May 25.

The University of Arizona announced the change, which will include new arrows along the path spaced 10 feet apart in order to help maintain distance and flow of foot traffic up and down the hill. In addition to masks and physical distancing, visitors will also be asked to limit group sizes to three people, use hand-sanitizing stations along the path and not touch the gate at the top of the hill.

The Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona recently received a leg up from Crest Insurance in the form of a $35,000 check. The funding will towards meeting an increasing need for emergency food supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are working as hard as we can to get food to people in the community,” said food bank president and CEO Michael McDonald, in a release. “This donation from Crest Insurance allows us to keep responding to a high need, providing fresh produce and non-perishable food to families, seniors, and children including many people who have suffered layoffs or job losses.”

The food bank recently moved its drive-thru services to Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium to help serve a larger portion of the community faster and more efficiently. The Arizona National Guard provided aid distributing supplies. The Community Foodbank of Southern Arizona's drive-thru service is on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. For more information please contact the food bank at communityfoodbank.org/. The sports complex is located at 2500 E. Ajo Way.

“We are so thankful, as a company, to be able to help our Southern Arizona families by meeting some of their needs,” said Cody Ritchie, Crest Insurance CEO. “Hopefully it can help make their difficult journey just a little easier. In addition to our original $25,000 donation, we are excited to contribute, at his request, another $10,000 in Golden State Warrior Head Coach Steve Kerr’s name.”

ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Click here to read their biggest stories as soon as they’re published.

Stephan Lewandowsky studies the way people think, and in particular, why they engage in conspiracy theories. So when the cognitive scientist from England’s University of Bristol observes wild speculation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, he sees how it fits into the historical pattern of misinformation and fake news.

I recently wrote about the viral video “Plandemic” as an investigative reporter assessing the range of unsubstantiated COVID-19 allegations put forth by a controversial researcher. Lewandowsky comes at the video and others like it from a science-based perspective. He is one of the authors of “The Conspiracy Theory Handbook,” which explains the traits of conspiratorial thinking.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors are allowing the public to attend and speak at tomorrow's meeting but attendees will need to follow new COVID-19 guidelines.

Participants will need to undergo a wellness check and sanitize their hands before entering the hearing room. Anyone who has a temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher or exhibits COVID-19 or influenza-like symptoms will not be admitted, according to the county's new guidelines.

Attendees will also be required to wear a mask at all times and maintain a six-foot physical distance between each other while in the hearing room. Access will be limited to accommodate physical distancing requirements.

The county is expected to continue discussions on whether or not county employees will be allowed to continue telecommuting, in addition to other agenda items. During the executive session, the county officials will also discuss their legal response to a recently filed complaint with the Arizona Attorney General's Office regarding updates to the county health code during the pandemic.