If you’re one of those people who never get a flu shot, make sure you do this year. If you normally do, make sure you don’t miss it.

That was the key advice Pima County’s Interim Health Department Director Bob England delivered to residents Tuesday morning via his daily video address regarding COVID-19.

England said the last thing you want is to get sick during the winter when the coronavirus could see another peak.

He added that the next few weeks will show healthcare experts two things: How much immunity society has developed to the disease, and COVID-19’s seasonality. He said if the virus behaves really seasonally and cases continue to drop since Arizona’s stay-home order was lifted May 15, that’s good news in the short run.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona reached 16,783 as of Tuesday, May 26, according to the morning report from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Pima County had 2,075 confirmed cases.

The coronavirus had killed 807 people statewide, including 173 in Pima County, according to the report.

In Maricopa County, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases had risen to 8,448.

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.

As Pima County emerges from the state's stay-at-home order, many establishments have reopened and more are planning to in the weeks to come as local elected officials attempt to enact emergency regulations or otherwise advise people how to safely avoid COVID-19 infection.

• The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 along party lines last week to revise the emergency health regulations they passed the previous week. The health regulations, related to the “best practices” strategies developed by the county’s Back To Business Task Force, came under fire from some members of the restaurant sector as well as local GOP state lawmakers, who asked Attorney General Mark Brnovich to look into whether the board was violating state law by enacting the regulations.

Some of the most significant revisions include removal of the $500 civil penalty, allowing bartop seating as long as six-foot distancing requirements are met and nixing 50 percent occupancy guidelines if physical distancing allows for higher occupancy.

We've come to the end of another work week, and to the beginning of Memorial Day Weekend. Let's take a look at the stories we've covered today.

• The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona topped 15,608 as of Friday, May 22, according to the morning report from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
• The travel forecast for this Memorial Day weekend is fuzzy – just another victim of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• If you have Medicare and want to be tested for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Trump administration has good news.
• Good news, book lovers, the Pima County Public Library is switching to an auto-renew system this summer that will automatically renew your checkout instead of instituting a late fee.
• On the heels of a pair of impressive performances this week, the Gaslight Music Hall in Oro Valley is hosting another two drive-in concerts next Wednesday and Thursday.
• The Grand Canyon will reopen on a limited basis for Memorial Day weekend, a move critics call “premature” during the COVID-19 pandemic and “tone-deaf” in the face of startling infection rates in the neighboring Navajo Nation.
• The YMCA in northwest Tucson reopened its doors to the community on Wednesday with added safety precautions and limited hours to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• The arts and crafts community around Cathey’s Sewing & Vacuum stores have kept busy during quarantine by sewing tens of thousands of masks for local hospitals, first responders, and law enforcement.
• A former White House aide won a $3 million federal contract to supply respirator masks to Navajo Nation hospitals in New Mexico and Arizona 11 days after he created a company to sell personal protective equipment in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

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

A former White House aide won a $3 million federal contract to supply respirator masks to Navajo Nation hospitals in New Mexico and Arizona 11 days after he created a company to sell personal protective equipment in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Zach Fuentes, President Donald Trump’s former deputy chief of staff, secured the deal with the Indian Health Service with limited competitive bidding and no prior federal contracting experience.

The IHS told ProPublica it has found that 247,000 of the masks delivered by Fuentes’ company — at a cost of roughly $800,000 — may be unsuitable for medical use. An additional 130,400, worth about $422,000, are not the type specified in the procurement data, the agency said.

The YMCA in northwest Tucson reopened its doors to the community on Wednesday with added safety precautions and limited hours to prevent the spread of COVID-19. They plan to open their other locations using a similar strategy in the coming weeks.

Visitors will notice the Y's cardio, circuit equipment and free weights are open for use while high-traffic spaces such as group fitness, locker rooms, gyms and pools are not available yet. They are encouraging all members to bring their own gym towel and water bottle.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona topped 15,608 as of Friday, May 22, according to the morning report from the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Pima County had 1,974 confirmed cases.

The coronavirus had killed 775 people statewide, including 174 in Pima County, according to the report.

In Maricopa County, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases had risen to 7,950.

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.

With Arizona's stay-at-home order lifted, businesses are reopening across the state, some more cautiously than most. While Gov. Doug Ducey has praised the responsibility approach he sees Arizonans taking, local elected officials such as Tucson Mayor Regina Romero have warned that he is proceeding too quickly and Arizona may see a resurgence of the virus.

"I don’t want our economy to just re-open, I want it to remain open," Romero said. "That will not happen if there is a second wave of the virus and we are forced to shut down again."

Dr. Bob England, the director of the Pima County Health Department, said people who are vulnerable to COVID-19 should continue to take precautions.

"Just know that if you're vulnerable, if you're older, if you have underlying health conditions that put you at higher risk, then please, please, please hunker down for a while longer," England cautioned. England said last week that the results of reopening so many establishments wouldn’t be known for weeks as test results tend to lag behind the actual spread of the virus. “It will take a few weeks to know the impact of this so we won’t know until early June what all of this is doing to the epidemic curve,” England said in a recent daily briefing.

In other COVID-related news:

• The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 along party lines yesterday to revise the emergency health regulations they passed last week on party lines. The health regulations, related to the “best practices” strategies developed by the county’s Back To Business Task Force, came under fire from some members of the restaurant sector as well as local GOP state lawmakers, who asked Attorney General Mark Brnovich to look into whether the board was violating state law by enacting the regulations.

Good evening! Here are the stories we covered for you today.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona topped 15,000 as of Thursday, May 21, according to the morning report from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted an untold number of events and businesses throughout the nation, the census continued quietly in the background.
For many musicians and performers out of work due to COVID-19, virtual performances have served as a mild bandage. But while performing in front of webcams may help ease the quarantine time, it doesn't replicate the community engagement found around Tucson’s stages and venues.
The endangered Gila topminnow is swimming in the newly restored pond at Agua Caliente on Tucson’s east side.
Local business owners still attempting to secure financial funding during the pandemic have less than a week left to apply for the City of Tucson's $1,000,000 dollar small business resiliency loan program.
About half of low-income Latino households and just as many Latino-owned businesses said they have not received any support from the massive COVID-19 relief bills, according to a nationwide poll released Wednesday.
A new survey finds differences in how Americans feel about water, and how those feelings translate into action.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Thursday to revise last week's emergency amendments to the county's health code for restaurants and bars after restaurant owners complained the new rules were too burdensome and Attorney General Mark Brnovich launched an investigation into the rules at the request of local GOP state lawmakers.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 Thursday to revise last week's emergency amendments to the county's health code for restaurants and bars after restaurant owners complained the new rules were too burdensome and Attorney General Mark Brnovich launched an investigation into the rules at the request of local GOP state lawmakers.

Today's vote was along party lines, with Democratic Supervisors Ramon Valadez, Sharon Bronson and Betty Villegas voting for the changes and GOP Supervisors Ally Miller and Steve Christy voting against them.

Some of the most significant revisions include removal of the $500 civil penalty, allowing bartop seating as long as six-foot distancing requirements are met and nixing 50 percent occupancy guidelines if physical distancing allows for higher occupancy.

“I think we have adequately captured all of the information that has been provided. I think our revision that we had Tuesday afternoon was based on a large part from the comments we’ve received here,” Pima County Administrator Huckelberry said before reading the revisions. “With all the notifications suggested I believe we would recommend to the board adoption.”

The board also clarified that parties—not individuals—must be spaced 6 feet apart to be in compliance with the proclamation. The county is still requiring parties not to exceed 10 or more people. Servers are not required to wear gloves and only have to follow current health code handwashing policies, instead of documenting each hand sanitization or glove change.

“The specificity of number (to a party) has been left out on purpose,” Huckelberry said. “Typically it’s two, but it could be (more) if we follow the same language in the policy, it’s up to 10 per party.”