Thursday, May 7, 2020
ProPublica
Health workers dressed in personal protective equipment handle a coronavirus test at a drive-through testing station in Stamford, Connecticut. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Counties throughout Arizona aren’t receiving enough COVID-19 tests to keep up with Gov. Doug Ducey’s recently announced “testing blitz,” according to a memo from Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry.
Written to the Pima County Board of Supervisors, Huckelberry’s memo states that Arizona has tapped Banner University Medical and Walgreens to conduct the tests at the Banner North Hills Facility on Ina Road and the Walgreens at Broadway Boulevard and Houghton Road.
According to Huckelberry, Banner leadership said the North Hills facility can only conduct up to 300 tests in a single day, a far lesser number than what would reasonably contribute to the statewide goal estimated by the governor. Huckelberry said the county has “no idea how the volume of testing desired will be accomplished at these two facilities” and that only 588 tests were administered last Saturday.
Tags: COVID19 , Testing , Coconino County , Navajo County , Pima County , Board of Supervisors , Chuck Huckelberry , Doug Ducey , Testing Blitz , Image
Courtesy Dynetics
n artist's concept of the Dynetics Human Landing System, for which Paragon will design the life support system, on the surface of the moon.
Technology currently being designed in Tucson may soon help the US send astronauts to the moon for the first time in 50 years. Paragon Space Development Corporation, headquartered in Tucson, is part of a science team that recently secured a NASA contract to design a human landing system to take the first woman and next man to the lunar surface by 2024.
“This is a major endeavor for the US, and we’re so excited to be a part of it,” said Grant Anderson, president and CEO of Paragon. “This is like a jewel in the crown of any environmental control company.”
The team Paragon is on was organized by Dynetics, a subsidiary of Leidos that provides engineering and science solutions for the national security, space and cybersecurity sectors. As part of this team, Paragon will provide the Environmental Control and Life Support System for the human landing system.
“The company was looking at those similar to Dynetics, and knew of Paragon already. They were a natural connection to our team,” said Kristina Hendrix, director of communications for Dynetics.
According to Hendrix, NASA put out requests for proposals for the Artemis Human Landing System last summer, and Dynetics quickly moved into action, assembling a team of subcontractors over three to five months. Other members of the team include the Sierra Nevada Corporation, Tuskegee University, Bionetics Corporation, Oceaneering International and more than a dozen others.
While Anderson says working on a moon lander has an especially inspirational feeling to it, this type of contract is not new for Paragon; the company has supported the development of every human-rated vehicle for NASA since 1999. Founded in 1993, Paragon focuses on creating life support and thermal control systems that would "allow humans to expand beyond their previously believed limits."
AZ Department of Health Reverses Course, Says It Will Continue Working with University Modeling Team
The Arizona Department of Health says its back in business with the ASU-UA modeling team that was developing projections of the spread of COVID-19 in Arizona.
The decision to tell the local team their work was no longer necessary had drawn criticism from health experts and Democrats.
Chris C. Minnick, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Health, said in a statement that the partnership is back on.
"Earlier today we communicated with the members of the University modeling team and we’re pleased to announce an ongoing partnership to continue providing models," Minnick said. "Our initial request for the team was to produce the model that they delivered on April 20th. We were very pleased with the model they provided. Understanding the demands on their time, we let them know that we were putting the modeling project on pause until we could bring them back to assist with modeling COVID-19 resource requirements during the influenza season. Since then, the Universities and team members have expressed a willingness to continue doing this work. We are grateful for their dedication and we look forward to an ongoing partnership."
The Ducey administration came under criticism this week after the Arizona Department of Health officials told university professors who had been modeling COVID-19’s spread to cease work.
Ducey spokesman Patrick Ptak said that the state had decided to go with a model that had been developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “When we first started tracking data, the state utilized various models to help predict future outcomes and make decisions in real-time,” Ptak said. “Their projections were often widely divergent and constantly changing. … We now have two months of on-the-ground data. We’ve been able to see which models are accurate—which match the actual facts and are most useful—and which are not. Dr. Cara Christ, the director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, is an infectious disease epidemiologist and public health expert. She made the decision after reviewing all the data. The modeling we are utilizing going forward is developed by FEMA and CDC and ensures our hospitals have capacity for any situation. That is the case currently, but we aren’t taking any chances.”
But Will Humble, the former director of the Arizona Department of Health, criticized the decision to shut down the local modeling effort in a Wednesday blog entry on the Arizona Public Health Association website.
“Astonishingly, the ADHS sent a letter to the Working Group last night hours after the governor’s press conference telling them to stop their work, discontinue producing predictive models, and to return the data that the working group was given by the ADHS,” Humble wrote. “Interestingly, the request came hours after the governor announced a relaxation of the Stay at Home Order. The letter asking them to stop work didn’t provide any reason for the request except that it was at the direction of ADHS’ senior leadership.” Humble said the decision to shut down the Arizona COVID-19 Modeling Working Group “begs the question of whether the Modeling Working Group was discontinued because they had been producing results that were inconsistent with messaging and decisions being made by the executive branch.”
U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema had likewise expressed concern about the disbanding of the modeling team and said she was glad to hear the modeling work would continue.
The decision to tell the local team their work was no longer necessary had drawn criticism from health experts and Democrats.
Chris C. Minnick, a spokesman for the Arizona Department of Health, said in a statement that the partnership is back on.
"Earlier today we communicated with the members of the University modeling team and we’re pleased to announce an ongoing partnership to continue providing models," Minnick said. "Our initial request for the team was to produce the model that they delivered on April 20th. We were very pleased with the model they provided. Understanding the demands on their time, we let them know that we were putting the modeling project on pause until we could bring them back to assist with modeling COVID-19 resource requirements during the influenza season. Since then, the Universities and team members have expressed a willingness to continue doing this work. We are grateful for their dedication and we look forward to an ongoing partnership."
Courtesy of U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Sen. Kysten Sinema: “I'm grateful that Arizona State University and the University of Arizona will continue this work, and I plan to rely on their findings and conclusions in my work to keep Arizonans healthy, safe, and economically secure.”
The Ducey administration came under criticism this week after the Arizona Department of Health officials told university professors who had been modeling COVID-19’s spread to cease work.
Ducey spokesman Patrick Ptak said that the state had decided to go with a model that had been developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “When we first started tracking data, the state utilized various models to help predict future outcomes and make decisions in real-time,” Ptak said. “Their projections were often widely divergent and constantly changing. … We now have two months of on-the-ground data. We’ve been able to see which models are accurate—which match the actual facts and are most useful—and which are not. Dr. Cara Christ, the director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, is an infectious disease epidemiologist and public health expert. She made the decision after reviewing all the data. The modeling we are utilizing going forward is developed by FEMA and CDC and ensures our hospitals have capacity for any situation. That is the case currently, but we aren’t taking any chances.”
But Will Humble, the former director of the Arizona Department of Health, criticized the decision to shut down the local modeling effort in a Wednesday blog entry on the Arizona Public Health Association website.
“Astonishingly, the ADHS sent a letter to the Working Group last night hours after the governor’s press conference telling them to stop their work, discontinue producing predictive models, and to return the data that the working group was given by the ADHS,” Humble wrote. “Interestingly, the request came hours after the governor announced a relaxation of the Stay at Home Order. The letter asking them to stop work didn’t provide any reason for the request except that it was at the direction of ADHS’ senior leadership.” Humble said the decision to shut down the Arizona COVID-19 Modeling Working Group “begs the question of whether the Modeling Working Group was discontinued because they had been producing results that were inconsistent with messaging and decisions being made by the executive branch.”
U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema had likewise expressed concern about the disbanding of the modeling team and said she was glad to hear the modeling work would continue.
A three-year-old child died on Tuesday from an apparent accidental and self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Tucson police. Two adults who were present when the shooting happened have been arrested and charged with felony child abuse.
Police responded to reports of a shooting at a home near Roger Road and Oracle Road around 1 p.m. that day. They found three-year-old Bryson Skinner with obvious signs of gunshot trauma and administered first aid until medics arrived. The child, who had life-threatening injuries, was then transported to Banner University Medical Center.
Bryson unfortunately died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
Police investigators believe that the child found a handgun in the home and accidentally discharged it. Detectives from the Child Abuse and Homicide Units interviewed 19-year-old William Skinner, a family member of the child, and his girlfriend, 22-year-old Valerie Faidley, who were in the home with Bryson when the shooting happened.
Police have not identified the owner of the handgun. Both William and Faidley are currently in Pima County jail.
No further information is available at this time.
Tags: Accidental Shooting , Tucson Police , Child Abuse , Felony , William Skinner , Valerie Faidley , Image
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona closed in on the 10,000 mark as of Thursday, May 7, according to the morning report from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County had 1,465 of the state's 9,945 confirmed cases.
The coronavirus had killed 450 people statewide, including 118 in Pima County, according to the report.
In Maricopa County, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases had risen to 5.196.
Although the state began a “testing blitz” over the weekend, Arizona lags other states in testing for COVID-19. 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 remains under a stay-at-home order through May 15, but Gov. Doug Ducey has modified his emergency declaration. Stores can now reopen with curbside and delivery business. Customers will be able to browse inside stores and get haircuts beginning on Friday, while restaurants can begin serving customers next week. Ducey has set up various new regulations, including requirements to wear masks and a heightened cleaning regimen.
People are still advised to limit contact and many businesses must remain closed, but Ducey said he wanted the state’s economy to gradually reopen.
“These habits we've acquired over the last 45 days will not be with us forever, but they will be with us for the time being,” Ducey said.
But some members of the medical community said Ducey’s move may have come soon and will result in greater spread of the virus. Dr. Bob England, the outgoing director of the Pima County Health Department, warned yesterday that by relaxing so many standards so quickly, Ducey was risking losing all the progress that state has made in stemming the disease, but the true results 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 daily briefing.
England urged people to continue social distancing and wear masks and said older people and those with underlying health conditions should remain at home as much as possible.
The Ducey administration came under criticism this week for telling university professors who had been modeling COVID-19’s spread to cease work.
Ducey spokesman Patrick Ptak said that the state had decided to go with a model that had been developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“When we first started tracking data, the state utilized various models to help predict future outcomes and make decisions in real-time,” Ptak said. “Their projections were often widely divergent and constantly changing. … We now have two months of on-the-ground data. We’ve been able to see which models are accurate—which match the actual facts and are most useful—and which are not. Dr. Cara Christ, the director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, is an infectious disease epidemiologist and public health expert. She made the decision after reviewing all the data. The modeling we are utilizing going forward is developed by FEMA and CDC and ensures our hospitals have capacity for any situation. That is the case currently, but we aren’t taking any chances.”
But Will Humble, the former director of the Arizona Department of Health, criticized the decision to shut down the local modeling effort in a Wednesday blog entry on the Arizona Public Health Association website.
“Astonishingly, the ADHS sent a letter to the Working Group last night hours after the governor’s press conference telling them to stop their work, discontinue producing predictive models, and to return the data that the working group was given by the ADHS,” Humble wrote. “Interestingly, the request came hours after the governor announced a relaxation of the Stay at Home Order. The letter asking them to stop work didn’t provide any reason for the request except that it was at the direction of ADHS’ senior leadership.”
Humble said the decision to shut down the Arizona COVID-19 Modeling Working Group “begs the question of whether the Modeling Working Group was discontinued because they had been producing results that were inconsistent with messaging and decisions being made by the executive branch.”
U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema likewise expressed concern about the disbanding of the modeling team and said she was glad to hear the modeling work would continue.
“The Governor's choice to disregard the science that should be the basis of Arizona public health policies—and the White House's guidelines for re-opening—is concerning and disappointing,” Sinema said in a prepared statement. “I'm grateful that Arizona State University and the University of Arizona will continue this work, and I plan to rely on their findings and conclusions in my work to keep Arizonans healthy, safe, and economically secure.”
That criticism was echoed by state Rep. Randy Friese, a Tucson Democrat who works as an emergency room doctor.
Friese called the disbanding of the eam “hugely alarming to me.”
“We need unbiased, scientific data and analysis and unbiased interpretation of that data,” said Friese, who worried that the dismissal came because the group’s advice was at odds with Ducey’s decision to move forward with relaxing restrictions related to his stay-at-home order..
“The modeling was saying the safest thing was to wait until late May to reopen,” Friese said. “The predictions are saying now that if we reopen now, we will be shutting down again in a couple of weeks and we may have to shut down for even longer if we had just waited a little longer.”
Friese said he was concerned that Ducey made the decision to accelerate efforts to reopen Arizona's stores and restaurants under pressure from President Donald Trump, who visited a Phoenix Honeywell plant that is now manufacturing N-95 face masks.
Trump and U.S. Sen. Martha McSally toured the plant on Tuesday while while speakers blared out the song “Live and Let Die.”
Trump said the U.S. “is now in the next stage of the battle” against COVID-19 and called for the lifting of restrictions that have slowed the outbreak’s progression.
Nationwide, more than 1.18 million people had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, which had killed an estimated 69,000 people as of Tuesday, May 5, according to tracking by Johns Hopkins University.
Trump, who said he didn’t expect more than 60,000 Americans to be killed by the coronavirus a few weeks ago, said at a Sunday Fox News town hall he expects the death toll to remain under 100,000.
The New York Times revealed that a recent forecast prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency predicted that by the end of May, the nation would see 200,000 new cases every day, with the death toll rising to 3,000 a day, up from the current 1,750. Trump administration officials said the report hadn’t been properly vetted by the White House cononavirus task force.
The IHME model now predicts roughly 135,000 deaths in the United States by the beginning of August.
COVID-19 symptoms typically occur two to 14 days after exposure, and include headache, fever, cough, and shortness of breath, according to the CDC. However, some cases of the virus are entirely asymptomatic. Practices to avoid infection include social distancing (of at least six feet), washing your hands, avoiding unnecessary trips and not touching your face. COVID-19 can survive on cardboard for up to 24 hours, and on stainless steel and plastic surfaces up to three days.
If you think you have been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever, cough or difficulty breathing, speak with a healthcare provider for medical advice. According to the CDC, people who are mildly ill with COVID-19 are able to recover at home. Stay at home and avoid public transportation, but stay in touch with your doctor. If you do leave your home, wear a facemask and clean your hands often. If you develop more severe symptoms (persistent pain or pressure in the chest, confusion, bluish lips) get medical attention immediately. Your local health authorities will give instructions on checking your symptoms and reporting information.
Have you caught COVID-19? Are you feeling ill? Is your small business struggling to make it? Have you lost your job as a result of the outbreak? Are you struggling to manage your kids while schools are closed? Tell us your COVID-19 stories. Send an email or photo to [email protected].
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Hey, everyone! How are you all holding up out there? We hope you're staying safe and staying sane. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, so check up on your friends and family, and reach out if you need a little extra help.
Here are some of the stories we've covered today:
Here are some of the stories we've covered today:
- The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona hit 9,707 as of Wednesday, May 6, according to the morning report from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
- The Rialto Theatre and 191 Toole have joined forces with the National Independent Venue Association to ask legislators to provide federal funding for struggling concert halls - and they need your help.
- While park officials are still determining how to best reopen amenities, they are encouraging park users to prepare for soaring temperatures in the Sonoran Desert.
- For those who've lost their job or can no longer afford diabetes supplies due to COVID-19, Tucson Medical Center is hosting a diabetes resource page listing discounts and cost-saving information from the three major insulin manufacturers.
- You can ditch the suit-and-tie look while working from home, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't still dress in stylish T-shirts.
- At least five Arizona prisoners have died from complications related to COVID-19, validating the fear of many advocates and family members of incarcerated people.
- The Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits, an advocacy group representing more than 20,000 nonprofits, estimates the state's nonprofit sector has already lost more than $40 million due to the COVID-19 pandemic and anticipates a $433 million loss by year's end.
At least five Arizona prisoners have died from complications related to COVID-19, validating the fear of many advocates and family members of incarcerated people. Now that the highly contagious virus has infiltrated the state’s prisons, the number of deaths are likely to increase.
In 2019, 11 percent of the state's prison population was over 55 years old. Prison healthcare vendor Centurion recently identified 6,600 incarcerated people that are vulnerable to COVID-19 based on their age group, health status and diagnoses.
One of those vulnerable people is Jenny Scriba’s husband. In 2016, he was convicted of possessing half an ounce of methamphetamine. Because he had a previous criminal record he was sentenced to eight years in prison. He is currently incarcerated in the Arizona State Prison Complex in Douglas, and is set to be released in 2025.
When COVID-19 reached Arizona, Scriba called everyone she could think of—her husband’s attorney, the Arizona Department of Corrections, the Governor’s Office and more—desperately trying to get him moved from the dorm where incarcerated people live communally in a large open room, to a private cell where he could have some chance of isolating away from others.
Her husband has Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, a genetic disease that leaves a person extremely vulnerable to lung infections. A COVID-19 diagnosis would likely be fatal.
“They give him a bar of soap and two extra phone calls and that’s what their response to the virus is,” Scriba said. “They just keep telling him he’s perfectly safe. His attorney called the warden, the warden told him that he’s perfectly safe.”
She said the Governor’s Office told her that the state is prepared to handle infectious diseases inside their prisons. But that statement has received pushback from a variety of groups involved in the criminal justice system.
In early March, a coalition of state and nationwide criminal justice reform organizations called for the Arizona Department of Health Services to perform health inspections in all state prisons, as the risk of COVID-19 spread grows each day.
In a letter to DHS Director Dr. Cara Christ, they urged her and other health officials to make sure that Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines are being followed consistently inside prisons.
The coalition included examples of why they believe the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry is putting people at great risk of becoming seriously ill. Numerous accounts show "serious inconsistencies between what ADCRR has publicly announced it is doing to adhere to CDC guidelines and the reality of what people who live and work in these facilities are seeing."
These first-hand accounts report a lack of personal and communal hygiene supplies, personal protective equipment and inconsistent health screenings for employees.
"If COVID-19 begins to spread inside our state prisons, it will endanger entire communities where those prisons reside,” AFSC-AZ Program Director Caroline Isaacs said in a press release. “Tens of thousands of people across this state will be impacted: correctional officers, their families, the businesses in their communities, as well as people who are incarcerated and their loved ones."
On April 7, the department announced plans for incarcerated people to make non-medical masks for all prison employees to wear during work. Their announcement did not include whether incarcerated people would get widespread access to masks themselves.
This move came after reports of department leadership actively discouraging employees from wearing masks during work, in order to "prevent panic."
Around the same time, the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers Association announced in a press release that Corrections Director David Shinn, Gov. Doug Ducey and Dr. Christ have all "utterly failed" to protect correctional officers, incarcerated people and the general public from COVID-19.
"Director Shinn has created a COVID19 disaster in Arizona prisons," the association said.
They said the department covered up early reports of correctional officers who contracted COVID-19, and have continuously allowed sick employees to come to work. As of today, 50 correctional staff have reported positive COVID-19 diagnoses.
Scriba was already hearing reports of sick people through her husband before the Department of Corrections released any confirmatory information. Her husband recently witnessed 30 new people come into the Douglas prison from the reception center in Phoenix.
She said the prison staff told everyone that they had been quarantined for 21 days and were all healthy, but there was a debate between people in prison as to whether that is true or not.
During his time in prison, Scriba said her husband has shown a strong change in character. He is enrolled in college classes, hasn’t gotten into any trouble, and is currently at the lowest security classification. This is his second time in prison, but she believes her husband has been a totally different person.
“The fact that I can’t even get him into a cell is seriously so stressful,” Scriba said. “I can't even explain how helpless I feel. I’m just watching and there’s nothing I can do.”
Since her husband went to prison, Scriba has been tasked with caring for their son by herself. She’s afraid of what will happen if she contracts the virus. She doesn’t have a support system near her home in Cochise County to help with childcare, and her nearest family member lives in Texas.
Ultimately, Scriba’s husband was denied the chance to move to a cell because of the order to limit the movements of incarcerated people between prisons.
According to the department’s website, four incarcerated people at the Douglas prison were tested for COVID-19 and their results came back negative. However, Scriba suspects that the virus has already made its way inside the walls that confine her husband and more than 2,000 other incarcerated people.
“Our loved ones are going to die,” Scriba said. “If they figure out that he’s got it, it’ll be way too late. If he gets it, he will die.”
In 2019, 11 percent of the state's prison population was over 55 years old. Prison healthcare vendor Centurion recently identified 6,600 incarcerated people that are vulnerable to COVID-19 based on their age group, health status and diagnoses.
One of those vulnerable people is Jenny Scriba’s husband. In 2016, he was convicted of possessing half an ounce of methamphetamine. Because he had a previous criminal record he was sentenced to eight years in prison. He is currently incarcerated in the Arizona State Prison Complex in Douglas, and is set to be released in 2025.
When COVID-19 reached Arizona, Scriba called everyone she could think of—her husband’s attorney, the Arizona Department of Corrections, the Governor’s Office and more—desperately trying to get him moved from the dorm where incarcerated people live communally in a large open room, to a private cell where he could have some chance of isolating away from others.
Her husband has Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, a genetic disease that leaves a person extremely vulnerable to lung infections. A COVID-19 diagnosis would likely be fatal.
“They give him a bar of soap and two extra phone calls and that’s what their response to the virus is,” Scriba said. “They just keep telling him he’s perfectly safe. His attorney called the warden, the warden told him that he’s perfectly safe.”
She said the Governor’s Office told her that the state is prepared to handle infectious diseases inside their prisons. But that statement has received pushback from a variety of groups involved in the criminal justice system.
In early March, a coalition of state and nationwide criminal justice reform organizations called for the Arizona Department of Health Services to perform health inspections in all state prisons, as the risk of COVID-19 spread grows each day.
In a letter to DHS Director Dr. Cara Christ, they urged her and other health officials to make sure that Center for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines are being followed consistently inside prisons.
The coalition included examples of why they believe the Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry is putting people at great risk of becoming seriously ill. Numerous accounts show "serious inconsistencies between what ADCRR has publicly announced it is doing to adhere to CDC guidelines and the reality of what people who live and work in these facilities are seeing."
These first-hand accounts report a lack of personal and communal hygiene supplies, personal protective equipment and inconsistent health screenings for employees.
"If COVID-19 begins to spread inside our state prisons, it will endanger entire communities where those prisons reside,” AFSC-AZ Program Director Caroline Isaacs said in a press release. “Tens of thousands of people across this state will be impacted: correctional officers, their families, the businesses in their communities, as well as people who are incarcerated and their loved ones."
On April 7, the department announced plans for incarcerated people to make non-medical masks for all prison employees to wear during work. Their announcement did not include whether incarcerated people would get widespread access to masks themselves.
This move came after reports of department leadership actively discouraging employees from wearing masks during work, in order to "prevent panic."
Around the same time, the Arizona Correctional Peace Officers Association announced in a press release that Corrections Director David Shinn, Gov. Doug Ducey and Dr. Christ have all "utterly failed" to protect correctional officers, incarcerated people and the general public from COVID-19.
"Director Shinn has created a COVID19 disaster in Arizona prisons," the association said.
They said the department covered up early reports of correctional officers who contracted COVID-19, and have continuously allowed sick employees to come to work. As of today, 50 correctional staff have reported positive COVID-19 diagnoses.
Scriba was already hearing reports of sick people through her husband before the Department of Corrections released any confirmatory information. Her husband recently witnessed 30 new people come into the Douglas prison from the reception center in Phoenix.
She said the prison staff told everyone that they had been quarantined for 21 days and were all healthy, but there was a debate between people in prison as to whether that is true or not.
During his time in prison, Scriba said her husband has shown a strong change in character. He is enrolled in college classes, hasn’t gotten into any trouble, and is currently at the lowest security classification. This is his second time in prison, but she believes her husband has been a totally different person.
“The fact that I can’t even get him into a cell is seriously so stressful,” Scriba said. “I can't even explain how helpless I feel. I’m just watching and there’s nothing I can do.”
Since her husband went to prison, Scriba has been tasked with caring for their son by herself. She’s afraid of what will happen if she contracts the virus. She doesn’t have a support system near her home in Cochise County to help with childcare, and her nearest family member lives in Texas.
Ultimately, Scriba’s husband was denied the chance to move to a cell because of the order to limit the movements of incarcerated people between prisons.
According to the department’s website, four incarcerated people at the Douglas prison were tested for COVID-19 and their results came back negative. However, Scriba suspects that the virus has already made its way inside the walls that confine her husband and more than 2,000 other incarcerated people.
“Our loved ones are going to die,” Scriba said. “If they figure out that he’s got it, it’ll be way too late. If he gets it, he will die.”
Tags: Arizona Department of Corrections , Douglas , Prison , COVID19 , Coronavirus , AFSC , Doug Ducey , Cara Christ , Image
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona hit 9,707 as of Wednesday, May 6, according to the morning report from the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County had 1,425 confirmed cases.
The coronavirus had killed 426 people statewide, including 116 in Pima County, according to the report.
In Maricopa County, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases had risen to 5,138.
Although the state began a “testing blitz” over the weekend, Arizona lags other states in testing for COVID-19. 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 remains under a stay-at-home order through May 15, but Gov. Doug Ducey has modified his emergency declaration. Stores can now reopen with curbside and delivery business. Customers will be able to browse inside stores and get haircuts beginning on Friday, while restaurants can begin serving customers next week. Ducey has set up various new regulations, including requirements to wear masks and a heightened cleaning regimen.
People are still advised to limit contact and many businesses must remain closed, but Ducey said he wanted the state’s economy to gradually reopen.
“These habits we've acquired over the last 45 days will not be with us forever, but they will be with us for the time being,” Ducey said.
But some members of the medical community said Ducey’s move may have come soon and will result in a greater spread of the virus. Dr. Bob England, the outgoing director of the Pima County Health Department, warned yesterday that by relaxing so many standards so quickly, Ducey was risking losing all the progress that state has made in stemming the disease, but the true results 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 daily briefing.
Pima County had 1,425 confirmed cases.
The coronavirus had killed 426 people statewide, including 116 in Pima County, according to the report.
In Maricopa County, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases had risen to 5,138.
Although the state began a “testing blitz” over the weekend, Arizona lags other states in testing for COVID-19. 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 remains under a stay-at-home order through May 15, but Gov. Doug Ducey has modified his emergency declaration. Stores can now reopen with curbside and delivery business. Customers will be able to browse inside stores and get haircuts beginning on Friday, while restaurants can begin serving customers next week. Ducey has set up various new regulations, including requirements to wear masks and a heightened cleaning regimen.
People are still advised to limit contact and many businesses must remain closed, but Ducey said he wanted the state’s economy to gradually reopen.
“These habits we've acquired over the last 45 days will not be with us forever, but they will be with us for the time being,” Ducey said.
But some members of the medical community said Ducey’s move may have come soon and will result in a greater spread of the virus. Dr. Bob England, the outgoing director of the Pima County Health Department, warned yesterday that by relaxing so many standards so quickly, Ducey was risking losing all the progress that state has made in stemming the disease, but the true results 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 daily briefing.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Gov. Doug Ducey has given restaurants the green light to resume dine-in service next week as long as they follow new sanitation regulations and ensure physical distancing between patrons, but some Tucson restaurateurs aren't sure they—or the public—are ready for the change.
“There will be more to follow on this but I want the restaurant industry to know that this is what’s going to happen next week,” Ducey said yesterday. “This is a safe and good option at this time and they’ll have a full week in which to prepare.”
Lindy Reilly, co-owner of Fire N’ Smoke Wood Fired Pizza and BBQ, is not so sure he’s ready to allow dine-in service. Reily isn’t as concerned about contracting COVID-19 as he is about the cost of restaffing his restaurant for a public already leery of take-out and delivery.
“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t know if I’ll be ready by Monday and I don’t know if we’ll do (dine-in) right away,” Reilly said. “If people already have an unforeseen fear of takeout food already, I don’t need that to compound.”
When Reily does open the doors to the public, he said his restaurant won’t return to full-service dining, instead opting for a fast-casual enviornment. It’s the limited capacity aspect that drives his decision to cut full service. “I just can’t afford the staff,” Reilly said.
“If you’re going to open and carry a full staff, you need a full-service restaurant to make that machine work,” said Reilly, who sees opening partially as a recipe for disaster. "I think you’re going to watch some restaurants fold.”
Ray Flores, king of the El Charro empire, said he was surprised by Gov. Ducey’s announcement since it allows restaurants to open a day earlier than the governor previously discussed.
“It kind of caught me off-guard, to be honest,” Flores said. “(Gov. Ducey) had came out and said he was going to work on something for potentially (May) 12, if not May 15.”
Flores is unsure of when they will reopen as they decide the best way to conduct business. In the meantime, the family developed a 100-point-plan to address future protocols from federal, state and local governing bodies, Flores said.
“There will be more to follow on this but I want the restaurant industry to know that this is what’s going to happen next week,” Ducey said yesterday. “This is a safe and good option at this time and they’ll have a full week in which to prepare.”
Lindy Reilly, co-owner of Fire N’ Smoke Wood Fired Pizza and BBQ, is not so sure he’s ready to allow dine-in service. Reily isn’t as concerned about contracting COVID-19 as he is about the cost of restaffing his restaurant for a public already leery of take-out and delivery.
“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t know if I’ll be ready by Monday and I don’t know if we’ll do (dine-in) right away,” Reilly said. “If people already have an unforeseen fear of takeout food already, I don’t need that to compound.”
When Reily does open the doors to the public, he said his restaurant won’t return to full-service dining, instead opting for a fast-casual enviornment. It’s the limited capacity aspect that drives his decision to cut full service. “I just can’t afford the staff,” Reilly said.
“If you’re going to open and carry a full staff, you need a full-service restaurant to make that machine work,” said Reilly, who sees opening partially as a recipe for disaster. "I think you’re going to watch some restaurants fold.”
Ray Flores, king of the El Charro empire, said he was surprised by Gov. Ducey’s announcement since it allows restaurants to open a day earlier than the governor previously discussed.
“It kind of caught me off-guard, to be honest,” Flores said. “(Gov. Ducey) had came out and said he was going to work on something for potentially (May) 12, if not May 15.”
Flores is unsure of when they will reopen as they decide the best way to conduct business. In the meantime, the family developed a 100-point-plan to address future protocols from federal, state and local governing bodies, Flores said.
PHOENIX – To get an idea of how fast scams are developing around the coronavirus, just ask Katie Conner, a spokesperson for Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich.
“It seems like every day … a new scam pops up,” said Conner, who said the attorney general’s office has been closely monitoring consumer fraud claims. “And we are really trying to stay ahead and get these warnings out there.”
But Brnovich’s office and other consumer groups said the threat of COVID-19 and the national focus on it have combined with the speed and anonymity of the internet to spread scams that have left watchdogs across the country scrambling.
“We are updating our site about every 30 minutes, working to provide tips to consumers and information to consumers as frequently as possible,” said Diane Brown, executive director of the Arizona Public Interest Research Group.
Groups say the scams themselves are not new, coming in the form of phishing emails, investment scams and supposed miracle products. What’s different, they say, is the intense focus on COVID-19 and the “creative” use of the internet to spread messages, often false, about it.
“With social media, scammers can quickly spread the news about a fake miracle cure or fake product. We have seen just about everything in the last couple weeks,” Conner said. “That’s why we really want consumers to remember there is no cure for COVID-19.”
That was echoed by Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean of public health at Johns Hopkins University, who said that sham treatment can be fatal. That was the case in Arizona, where a man died after he and his wife drank fish-tank cleaner because it contained a chemical that President Donald Trump had cited as a possible treatment.
“It seems like every day … a new scam pops up,” said Conner, who said the attorney general’s office has been closely monitoring consumer fraud claims. “And we are really trying to stay ahead and get these warnings out there.”
But Brnovich’s office and other consumer groups said the threat of COVID-19 and the national focus on it have combined with the speed and anonymity of the internet to spread scams that have left watchdogs across the country scrambling.
“We are updating our site about every 30 minutes, working to provide tips to consumers and information to consumers as frequently as possible,” said Diane Brown, executive director of the Arizona Public Interest Research Group.
Groups say the scams themselves are not new, coming in the form of phishing emails, investment scams and supposed miracle products. What’s different, they say, is the intense focus on COVID-19 and the “creative” use of the internet to spread messages, often false, about it.
“With social media, scammers can quickly spread the news about a fake miracle cure or fake product. We have seen just about everything in the last couple weeks,” Conner said. “That’s why we really want consumers to remember there is no cure for COVID-19.”
That was echoed by Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean of public health at Johns Hopkins University, who said that sham treatment can be fatal. That was the case in Arizona, where a man died after he and his wife drank fish-tank cleaner because it contained a chemical that President Donald Trump had cited as a possible treatment.
