With the spring semester beginning, three drive-through COVID-19 testing sites are returning to Pima Community College. The sites facilitated by Arizona State University are at PCC's West, East and Desert Vista locations:

• Pima College West, 2202 W. Anklam Road, Mondays, 9 a.m. to noon

• Pima College Desert Vista, 5901 S. Calle Santa Cruz, Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to noon

• Pima College East, 8181 E. Irvington Road, Fridays, 9 a.m. to noon

Appointments are required and can be scheduled at pima.gov/covid19testing

Additionally, the Pima County Health Department announced that the Downtown COVID-19 testing location has moved from the parking garage at 400 W. Congress St. to Tucson Electric Power’s parking lot on the south side of the building on the northwest corner of South Sixth Avenue and East 12th Street. The lot is immediately south of 88 E. Broadway Blvd. The hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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Following the Trump-incited riots last week in Washington, House Democrats are pushing to impeach the president for a second time. Politico reports today:

The House will take its first formal step toward removing President Donald Trump Tuesday, with Democrats warning he presents a grave and immediate threat to the nation despite having just a week left in office.

Democrats’ push to force Trump out — first with a vote later Tuesday calling on Vice President Mike Pence to take unilateral action and then an impeachment vote Wednesday — is barreling to the floor at unprecedented speed.

“This is a solemn day,” House Rules Chair Jim McGovern said as his panel moved quickly to tee up the resolution intended to pressure Pence. The Massachusetts Democrat, who was steps away from the doors as rioters attempted to pound their way into the chamber last Wednesday, rebuked Trump for urging his supporters to march on the Capitol where their insurrection temporarily halted certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s win.

“He called together an angry mob, he filled them with falsehoods and false hope. And then he sent them to the U.S. Capitol,” McGovern said. “It is past time for the vice president to do the right thing here.”

Over the weekend, U.S. Rep. Tom O'Halleran joined the four other Democrats in the House delegation—Reps. Raul Grijalva, Ann Kirkpatrick, Greg Stanton and Ruben Gallego—in announcing he would support impeachment proceedings if Vice President Mike Pence and the president's cabinet did not take action to remove Trump via the 25th Amendment.

“Today, it’s clear to me that the Vice President and President Trump’s Cabinet have no intention of taking action," O'Halleran said over the weekend. "Moreover, we’ve seen just how quickly things can escalate; with American blood on his hands, Donald Trump should not remain in the highest seat of power in the free world for even the next 11 days. I am joining my colleagues on a resolution to draw up Articles of Impeachment to remove Donald Trump from office, preventing him from becoming a further threat to our national security."

O'Halleran cited his past career as a cop in announcing his decision.

"As a former law enforcement officer and criminal investigator, I spent my career gathering facts and evidence to pursue truth and justice," O'Halleran said in a prepared statement. "Today, I am using the facts at hand to inform my decision to act to remove a threat to our nation: Donald Trump refused to concede in a free and fair election and incited insurrection by domestic terrorists who scaled walls and strode armed through our Capitol, threatening lives and desecrating the building that represents our very democracy. In our democracy, we hold elected officials accountable when they break the public trust and put their own interests before the good of our country.”

With more than 8,500 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 636,000 as of Tuesday, Jan 12, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Pima County, which reported 1,040 new cases today, has seen 84,426 of the state’s 636,100 confirmed cases.

A total of 10,482 Arizonans have died after contracting COVID-19, including 1,311 deaths in Pima County, according to the Jan. 12 report.

The number of hospitalized COVID cases statewide continues to soar as the virus has begun to spread more rapidly, putting stress on Arizona’s hospitals and surpassing July peaks. ADHS reported that as of Jan. 11, 5,082 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state, breaking the 5,000 threshold for the first time. The summer peak of 3,517 hospitalized COVID patients was set on July 13; that number hit a subsequent low of 468 on Sept. 27, or less than a tenth of the current count.

 

A total of 1,872 people visited emergency rooms on Jan. 11 with COVID symptoms, down from the record high of 2,341 set on Tuesday, Dec. 29. That number had previously peaked at 2,008 on July 7; it hit a subsequent low of 653 on Sept. 28.

A record number of 1,183 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Jan. 11. The summer’s record number of patients in ICU beds was 970, set on July 13. The subsequent low was 114 on Sept. 22.

A website that tracks COVID infections across the globe reports that Arizona continues to have a COVID transmission rate far above the United States as a whole.

The website 91-divoc.com, which uses data from Johns Hopkins University, reports that Arizona is seeing a record 122 infections per 100,000 people on a seven-day average, compared to 74.2 infections per 100,000 for the United States as a whole.

Pressure on Pima County hospitals continues to rise. As of Monday, Jan. 11, a record number of 243 COVID patients were in ICU beds, accounting for 68% of ICU beds. Only 20 ICU beds were available in the county, according to the Pima County Health Department.

The death toll among COVID continued to rise with 46 deaths over the weekend, bringing the total since Jan. 1 to 172.

UA professor: Virus “is mowing through Arizona like a sharpened scythe”

The latest COVID-19 report from a University of Arizona professor shows an increase in already alarming coronavirus numbers as the state continues to set records for weekly case counts. Those numbers are likely even higher in reality because of a backlog in reporting.

Dr. Joe Gerald, who creates weekly coronavirus epidemiology reports based on Arizona Department of Health Services data, had little good news to share in this week’s report.

“The [coronavirus] is mowing through Arizona like a sharpened scythe,” Gerald wrote in the report. “Fatalities are stacking up like cordwood in advance of a long winter. Barring intervention, daily cases and fatalities will double or perhaps quadruple before the outbreak collapses under the weight of natural, not vaccine-induced, immunity later this spring.”

The week ending Jan. 3 saw 56,108 new COVID-19 cases statewide, a 35% increase from the week prior.

The partnership between the University of Arizona and NASA is growing even stronger with the space agency selecting Carlos Vargas, a postdoctoral researcher in UA's Steward Observatory, to lead a new space telescope mission.

The Aspera mission will study the evolution of galaxies by sending a small telescope—or SmallSat—into space to examine the gas between galaxies in ultraviolet light. Costing $20 million, the mission is planned to launch in late 2024. The telescope is expected to be roughly the size of a mini fridge.

"As telescopes have become more sensitive and have allowed us to discover more exotic types of gases, we now realize there is tons of stuff in between galaxies that connects them," Vargas said in a press release. "Galaxies are undergoing this beautiful dance in which inflowing and outflowing gases balance each other."

According to UA, the Aspera mission's goal is to provide the first-ever direct observations of a certain portion of “circumgalactic medium”—the low-density gas that permeates and surrounds galaxies, and in some cases even connects them.

Aspera is one of four missions in NASA’s new Pioneers Program, which is intended to conduct “compelling astrophysics science at a lower cost using smaller hardware than missions in the Explorers Program.” Principal investigators of the other three missions hail from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, and the University of Chicago.

NASA describes the Pioneer missions as an experiment, as the agency has never solicited proposals for these kinds of astrophysics studies at such low cost and with such tight constraints.

“The principal investigators of these concept studies bring innovative, out-of-the-box thinking to the problem of how to do high-impact astrophysics experiments on a small budget,” said Thomas H. Zurbuchen, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. “Each of the proposed experiments would do something no other NASA telescope or mission can do, filling important gaps in our understanding of the universe as a whole.”

Gov. Doug Ducey delivered his 2021 State of the State address Monday afternoon with a message of maintaining resilience against COVID-19, returning students to classrooms and advocating for lower income taxes.

The governor began his address calling the Capitol riots on Jan. 6 a “sickening day in Washington D.C. that no American will ever forget.”

Ducey, who campaigned alongside Trump this year, condemned the siege of the capitol building that was incited by the president himself.

“In the United States of America, violence and vandalism have no place in the people's house. Perpetrators should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Ducey said. “Let us condemn it and resolve that it never happens again.”

Ducey refuses statewide "lockdowns" to prevent COVID-19 spread

The governor acknowledged the significant strain on healthcare workers to care for a growing number of COVID-19 patients but adamantly rejected instituting lockdowns in a state currently experiencing the second-highest rate of the virus’ transmission in the nation.

“Why not ban all gatherings and just lock everything down? It's a question that only makes sense if you forget about everything else, all the other troubles that lockdowns set in motion,” he said. “The rest of life doesn't stop in a pandemic. Least of all our basic responsibilities. People still have bills to pay, children in need of schooling, businesses to run and employees who depend on them.”

Ducey made clear he won’t grant authority to local jurisdictions to impose their own pandemic mitigation policies. Pima County has implemented its own curfew, which is being legally challenged by a group of Tucson bar owners.

“I've been entrusted by the people of Arizona with this responsibility. I'm not going to hand over the keys to a small group of mayors who have expressed every intention of locking down their cities,” Ducey said.

An end to remote learning

After mentioning he’s working to ensure teachers “receive the vaccine as quickly as possible,” Ducey advocated for an end to remote learning models for students to attend school from home.

The latest COVID-19 report from a University of Arizona professor shows an increase in already alarming coronavirus numbers as the state continues to set records for weekly case counts. Those numbers are likely even higher in reality because of a backlog in reporting.

Dr. Joe Gerald, who creates weekly coronavirus epidemiology reports based on Arizona Department of Health Services data, had little good news to share in this week’s report.

“The [coronavirus] is mowing through Arizona like a sharpened scythe,” Gerald wrote in the report. “Fatalities are stacking up like cordwood in advance of a long winter. Barring intervention, daily cases and fatalities will double or perhaps quadruple before the outbreak collapses under the weight of natural, not vaccine-induced, immunity later this spring.”

The week ending Jan. 3 saw 56,108 new COVID-19 cases statewide, a 35% increase from the week prior.

Coronavirus testing positivity reached 35% that week, setting a new record for the state.

Arizona has also surpassed its deadliest week from the summer surge in cases, and the week ending Dec. 20 now holds the highest number of COVID-19 deaths at 709. Gerald predicts weekly death counts will exceed 700 in the coming weeks.

Gerald said testing capacity and uptake remains lower than levels observed on Dec. 20, indicating the reported numbers are likely higher in reality.

“The test positivity rate for traditional . . . PCR testing set another record this week at 35% positivity,” he wrote. “This indicates a substantial mismatch between testing capacity and demand and supports the notion that viral transmission is growing faster than case counts alone would suggest, that our viral control measures are wholly inadequate, and our testing capacity compared to other regions is poor.”

With nearly 9,000 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 627,000 as of Monday, Jan 11, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Pima County, which reported 1,189 new cases today, has seen 83,386 of the state’s 627,541 confirmed cases.

A total of 10,147 Arizonans have died after contracting COVID-19, including 1,263 deaths in Pima County, according to the Jan. 11 report.

The number of hospitalized COVID cases statewide continues to soar as the virus has begun to spread more rapidly, putting stress on Arizona’s hospitals and surpassing July peaks. ADHS reported that as of Jan. 10, 4,997 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state, one fewer than the record 4,998 number who were in hospital beds on Saturday, Jan. 8. The summer peak of 3,517 hospitalized COVID patients was set on July 13; that number hit a subsequent low of 468 on Sept. 27, or less than a tenth of the current count.

A total of 2,054 people visited emergency rooms on Jan. 10 with COVID symptoms, down from the record high of 2,341 set on Tuesday, Dec. 29. That number had previously peaked at 2,008 on July 7; it hit a subsequent low of 653 on Sept. 28.

A record number of 1,158 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Jan. 10. The summer’s record number of patients in ICU beds was 970, set on July 13. The subsequent low was 114 on Sept. 22.

A website that tracks COVID infections across the globe reports that Arizona continues to have the highest rate of COVID infection in the world.

The website 91-divoc.com, which uses data from Johns Hopkins University, reports that Arizona is seeing a record 122 infections per 100,000 people on a seven-day average, compared to 74.2 infections per 100,000 for the United States as a whole.

Pressure on Pima County hospitals continues to rise. As of Friday, Jan. 8, a record number of 168 COVID patients were on ventilators, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all ventilators in use, according to the Pima County Health Department.

Pima County Attorney Laura Conover announced Sunday night that she was temporarily closing her Downtown offices after a COVID outbreak among her staff.

The Legal Services Building, 32 N. Stone Ave., will be closed Monday and Tuesday for cleaning and sanitizing while employees telecommute.

Conover has been feeling mild COVID symptoms and is awaiting test results, according to a news release.

Conover said the closure was necessary "to keep operations going and to make sure we don't hit that brick wall of not having enough healthy staff."

Conover thanked employees who had alerted HR to their positive tests.

"You are helping us keep your colleagues safe," Conover said.

The superintendent of Tucson's largest school district announced it will not be returning to in-person instruction at least through January.

In the meantime, as Pima County is poised to begin administering vaccines to group 1B—which includes teachers—as early as next week, Tucson Unified School District is gearing up to help vaccinate its staff.

The county will set up a “supersite model” of six or seven vaccination centers where all district employees can receive the vaccine, said TUSD Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo.

On Friday, Jan. 15, a registration website will be set up for employees to make an appointment to receive a vaccination at one of the vaccine sites and schedule an appointment for a second dose 28 days later, he said. He made clear, however, that no employee will be mandated to receive the vaccine.

“We believe that it's our responsibility to create the conditions, create the opportunities for employees who want to go get the vaccine of their own free will and their own accord,” Trujillo said. “We will be creating conditions internally that will make it as easy as possible for an employee to choose to go get the vaccine.”

Some TUSD employees have already been vaccinated in their capacity as nurses, health assistants, athletic trainers, occupational therapists, speech therapists and language therapists that qualified under group 1A of vaccine recipients.

However, Trujillo noted, many who didn’t qualify also received the vaccine.

The Small Business Administration and the U.S. Department of the Treasury recently announced a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans will begin for new and certain existing borrowers later this month.

The First Draw of PPP loans will be distributed to qualifying borrowers through community financial institutions on Monday, Jan. 11, with the Second Draw on Wednesday, Jan. 13. All participating lenders will have access to the PPP shortly after, according to a statement released by the SBA on Friday, Jan. 8.

“The historically successful Paycheck Protection Program served as an economic lifeline to millions of small businesses and their employees when they needed it most,” said SBA administrator Jovita Carranza. “Today’s guidance builds on the success of the program and adapts to the changing needs of small business owners by providing targeted relief and a simpler forgiveness process to ensure their path to recovery.”

The SBA also updated PPP guidance for potential borrowers as a part of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Non-Profits and Venues Act.

Major updates include:

• PPP borrowers can set their PPP loan’s covered period to be any length between eight and 24 weeks to best meet their business needs;

• PPP loans will cover additional expenses, including operations expenditures, property damage costs, supplier costs and worker protection expenditures;

• The Program’s eligibility is expanded to include 501(c)(6)s, housing cooperatives, direct marketing organizations and other types of organizations;

• The PPP provides greater flexibility for seasonal employees;

• Certain existing PPP borrowers can request to modify their First Draw PPP Loan amount;

• Certain existing PPP borrowers are now eligible to apply for a Second Draw PPP Loan.

Borrowers could be eligible for a Second Draw PPP Loan if they:

• Previously received a First Draw PPP Loan and will or have used the full amount only for authorized uses;

• Have no more than 300 employees;

• Can demonstrate at least a 25% reduction in gross receipts between comparable quarters in 2019 and 2020.

Businesses are encouraged to contact their financial lender or banking institution to see if they qualify.

For more information about the second round of PPP loans, visit sba.gov/ppp or treasury.gov/cares.