Monday, November 9, 2020
With close to 5,000 new cases reported since Friday, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases was nearing 260,000 as of Monday, Nov. 9, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County had seen 30,493 of the state’s 259,699 confirmed cases.
A total of 6,164 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 659 deaths in Pima County, according to the Nov. 9 report.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases statewide continues to climb upward as the virus has begun to spread more rapidly. ADHS reported that as of Nov. 8, 1,232 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state, the highest that number has been since Aug. 14. That number peaked with 3,517 hospitalized COVID patients on July 13; it hit a subsequent low of 468 on Sept. 27.
A total of 992 people visited emergency rooms on Nov. 8 with COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7; it hit a subsequent low of 653 on Sept. 28.
A total of 292 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Nov. 8, the highest that number has been since Aug. 26. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13 and hit a subsequent low of 114 on Sept. 22.
On a week-by-week basis in Pima County, the number of positive COVID tests peaked the week ending July 4 with 2,452 cases, according to an Nov. 4 report from the Pima County Health Department.
Pima County is seeing a steady rise in cases in recent weeks. For the week ending Oct. 10, 465 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 17, 543 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 24, 911 cases were reported; and for the week ending Oct. 31, 1,166 cases were reported.
Deaths in Pima County are down from a peak of 54 in the week ending July 4 to four in the week ending Oct. 3 (WEEK 40), two in the week ending Oct 10, one in week ending Oct. 17, two in the week ending Oct. 24 and one in the week ending Oct. 31.
Hospitalization peaked the week ending July 18 with 221 COVID patients admitted to Pima County hospitals, but it has been on the rise in recent weeks. In the week ending Oct. 3, 20 patients were admitted; in the week ending Oct. 10, 27 people were admitted; in the week ending Oct. 17, 37 people were admitted; in the week ending Oct. 24, 34 people were admitted; and in the week ending Oct. 31, 41 people were admitted. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
TUSD cancels plans to return to classroom
With the recent rise of cases, Tucson Unified School District Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo informed parents on Friday that Tucson’s largest school district would not be resuming in-classroom instruction this week as previously planned.
“In my briefings this week with the Pima County Health Department leadership team, I was informed that our county will be in a state of widespread community transmission of COVID-19 at the time of our planned opening,” Trujillo wrote. “Out of an abundance of caution, our leadership team has made a commitment to only initiate ‘hybrid’ instruction when Pima County is in a state of moderate transmission or better.”
TUSD now tentatively plans to launch hybrid in-classroom instruction after winter break in January 2021.
Other local school districts such as Amphi, Marana, Catalina Foothills and Sunnyside have had “hybrid” in-class instruction programs running since sometime in October.
Get tested: Pima County offers free COVID testing, UA offering antibody testing
The Pima County Health Department has four free testing centers around town with easy-to-schedule appointments—often with same-day availability—with results in 24 to 72 hours.
You’ll have a nasal swab test at the Kino Event Center (2805 E. Ajo Way) the Udall Center (7200 E. Tanque Verde Road) and downtown (88 E. Broadway). The center at the northside Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center, 1660 W. Ruthrauff Road, involves a saliva test designed by ASU.
Schedule an appointment at pima.gov/covid19testing.
The University of Arizona’s antibody testing has been opened to all Arizonans as the state attempts to get a handle on how many people have been exposed to COVID-19 but were asymptomatic or otherwise did not get a test while they were ill.
To sign up for testing, visit https://covid19antibodytesting.arizona.edu/home.
Friday, November 6, 2020
Because of increased positivity rates, TUSD will delay in-person instruction until January 4th. Stay safe, mask-up!
Posted by Adelita S. Grijalva on Friday, November 6, 2020
The board had voted 3-2 to have students return to schools for in-classroom instruction late last month.
UPDATED: Here's the letter to parents from TUSD Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo:
More details to come.11/6/20
Greetings Tucson Unified Family,
As your Superintendent there is no responsibility I take more seriously and no priority more important than ensuring the health, safety, and security of our students and employees. This commitment is the core value inherent in any decision I make. Throughout this pandemic your Governing Board and I have committed to honoring the expertise of the Pima County Health Department by utilizing their data to guide our decision making regarding the re-opening of our schools, programs, and extra-curricular activities. It is in this spirit that I have made the difficult decision to not open the Tucson Unified School District for Hybrid Learning starting Thursday November 12th. In my briefings this week with the Pima County Health Department leadership team, I was informed that our county will be in a state of widespread community transmission of COVID-19 at the time of our planned opening. I encourage you to view her 11/4/20 community update message here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=1aaDMT9ECWM Out of an abundance of caution, our leadership team has made a commitment to only initiate “hybrid” instruction when Pima County is in a state of moderate transmission or better. Please note that our remote instructional model will remain unchanged. Your child or children should continue to log on to their regularly scheduled remote classes at their regularly scheduled times. School bell schedules for remote instruction will remain the same.
We will continue to have On Campus Learning Spaces open for at-risks students, as well as any families that would like their children to be on campus. Our On-Campus Learning Spaces will continue to feature access to remote instruction and basic campus services for students that attend.
If you are a family that chose Hybrid Learning, your student will be prioritized when Hybrid Learning begins in the Spring.
I thank you for your continued patience, support, and trust in the Tucson Unified School District and look forward to continuing to provide you with updates as soon as information becomes available. Be safe and be healthy.
Pima County counted another 7,325 votes today.
The county now estimates that only a few hundred early ballots remain to be tallied.
In addition, roughly 18,000 provisional ballots are in the process of being verified, according to a county press release. County Recorder F. Ann Rodriguez says the first batch of provisional ballots will be sent to the Election Department for counting on Monday.
Following today's tally, here's where things stand in Pima County:
• After trailing on Election Night, Republican Treasurer Beth Ford has now widened her lead over Democrat Brian Bickel to 3,146 votes.
• In a rematch of the 2016 race, Democratic challenger Chris Nanos was still leading Republican Sheriff Mark Napier, the candidate he lost to four years ago, but Napier had narrowed Nanos' lead by 902 votes and now trailed by 5,379 votes.
• Democrat Rex Scott has a thinning lead over Republican Steve Spain in the race for the District 1 seat on the Pima County Board of Supervisors. Scott, a former school administrator, was ahead of Spain by just 1,854 votes after today's tally. He lead this morning by more than 2,400 votes this morning in the contest for the seat now held by retiring Supervisor Ally Miller.
If Scott’s lead holds up, it would be the first time a Democrat has held the District 1 seat in decades.
It would also mean four Democrats will be on the Pima County Board of Supervisors next year.
• In District 2, Democrat Matt Heinz, who defeated longtime Supervisor Ramon Valadez in the August primary, easily dispatched Republican Anthony Sizer, winning 68 percent of the vote.
• In District 3, Democrat Sharon Bronson won a seventh term on the board after she captured 58 percent of the vote against GOP challenger Gabby Saucedo Mercer.
• In District 4, incumbent GOP Supervisor Steve Christy will be the sole Republican on the Board of Supervisors after he won 54 percent of the vote against Democratic challenger Steve Diamond.
• In District 5, in the race for the open seat previously held by the late Supervisor Richard Elias, Democrat Adelita Grijalva defeated Republican Fernando Gonzales with 74 percent of the vote.
• In the race for County Recorder, Democrat Gabriella Cázares-Kelly had 60 percent of the vote against Republican Benny White.
• Democrat Suzanne Droubie had won 58 percent of the vote against Republican Jo Ann Sabbagh in the race for County Assessor.
• After winning a three-way primary race in August, Democrat Laura Conover was unopposed in the contest to replace Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall, who is stepping down after six terms. County School Superintendent Dustin Williams was also unopposed in his bid for a second term.
With 1,996 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 254,000 as of Friday, Nov. 6, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County, which saw its number of cases jump by 308 yesterday, had seen 29,764 of the state’s 254,764 confirmed cases.
With 22 new deaths reported yesterday, a total of 6,109 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 650 deaths in Pima County, according to the Nov. 6 report.
Although the current rise in COVID-19 cases is alarming, Gov. Doug Ducey warned last week there’s even worse to come.
“We know that there is a storm ahead of us, yet it’s not here,” Ducey said. “But those simple guidelines of wearing a mask, washing our hands, being socially distanced and using common sense have served us very well to date.”
However, the governor doesn’t plan on imposing new safety restrictions to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
“The mitigation that we’ve put out, the plan we put into effect remains in effect. I am proud that Arizona is open, that our economy is open, that our educational institutions are open and our tourist destinations are open,” Ducey said. “While at the same time, we do have mitigation steps in place that have allowed us to protect lives while protecting livelihoods, and we’re gonna continue to do that.”
But public health officials are warning that unless trends reverse, the state could face a “staggering” death toll, according to Cronkite News.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases statewide has declined from July peaks but has ticked upward in recent weeks as the virus has begun to spread more rapidly. ADHS reported that as of Nov. 5, 1,082 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state. That number peaked with 3,517 hospitalized COVID patients on July 13; it hit a subsequent low of 468 on Sept. 27.
A total of 1,077 people visited emergency rooms on Nov. 5 with COVID symptoms, the highest that number has been since Aug. 8. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7; it hit a subsequent low of 653 on Sept. 28.
Thursday, November 5, 2020
On
Tuesday night, Arizonans joined four other states to pass some form of cannabis
legalization, when citizens voted in favor of the Smart and Safe Arizona Act, Prop
207, which legalized the use of marijuana for persons over the age of 21.
Citizens
of Arizona joined with voters in New Jersey, Montana and South Dakota to
approve measures legalizing recreational marijuana, while Mississippi approved
the use of medical marijuana for people with “debilitating conditions.”
Smart
and Safe passed, with nearly 60 percent voting in favor. As of Thursday, Nov.
5, the measure was leading In Maricopa County by nearly 360,000 votes and in
Pima County, it was leading by more than 120,000 votes.
“It
appears the vast majority of Arizonans and Americans admit the War on Drugs has
been a complete failure,” said Steve White, founder and CEO of Harvest
Enterprises, Inc., which supported the measure with nearly $1.5 million in
donations. “When you put a significant amount of time and money into the hands
of other people, it’s scary. I’m thankful that 60 percent of Arizonans made the
right choice.”
Once
the final votes are certified, marijuana possession for persons over the age of
21 will be legal, although the rules regulating commercial retail likely won’t
be in place before March and expungement of low-level marijuana-related
convictions will begin in July. A 16 percent excise tax will be imposed the
sale on recreational cannabis, which is expected to generate $250 million in
annual revenues to be dispersed for programs including enforcement, school
funding and administration of the program through the Arizona Department of Health
Services.
AZDHS,
or any successor agency to that department, will oversee the medical marijuana
program and has been given the task of writing policy within the guidelines of
the measure.
Under
the new law, individuals can grow up to six plants for personal use, with
severe penalties for anyone caught selling cannabis on the black market.
Municipalities
will also have control over whether there are recreational retail shops within their
jurisdictions, although they are not allowed to ban sales where a medical
marijuana dispensary exists.
On
Oct. 26, the Town of Sahuarita pre-emptively set restrictions in place, prohibiting
cannabis on public property—which is already part of the law—prohibiting
recreational retail sales with the exception of a “dual licensee” operating out
of a shared location, as well as banning future testing facilities that are
expected in response to a state testing mandate that started on Nov. 1, 2020.
Hana Meds is the sole dispensary in Sahuarita, so the restriction would allow that dispensary to open a recreational retail shop in the same location should it receive a dual license from the state in 2021.
Ballot Counting Continuing in Pima County; Last Night's Count Didn't Change Any of Tuesday's Results
Meanwhile, the County Recorder's Office has verified another 22,000 ballots for tabulation later today, according to a press release from Pima County. The Recorder's Office is continuing to verify early ballots and will ship them over to the Elections Department for counting later today.
The Weekly will update with new numbers as they are posted by county officials.
As of yesterday, county officials estimated between 26,000 and 34,000 ballots remained to be counted in Pima County. Yesterday afternoon, 5,354 of those ballots were counted.
With 2,135 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 252,000 as of Thursday, Nov. 5, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County, which saw its number of cases jump by 165 yesterday, had seen 29,456 of the state’s 252,769 confirmed cases.
With 28 new deaths reported yesterday, a total of 6,087 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 650 deaths in Pima County, according to the Nov. 5 report.
Although the current rise in COVID-19 cases is alarming, Gov. Doug Ducey warned last week there’s even worse to come.
“We know that there is a storm ahead of us, yet it’s not here,” Ducey said. “But those simple guidelines of wearing a mask, washing our hands, being socially distanced and using common sense have served us very well to date.”
However, the governor doesn’t plan on imposing new safety restrictions to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
“The mitigation that we’ve put out, the plan we put into effect remains in effect. I am proud that Arizona is open, that our economy is open, that our educational institutions are open and our tourist destinations are open,” Ducey said. “While at the same time, we do have mitigation steps in place that have allowed us to protect lives while protecting livelihoods, and we’re gonna continue to do that.”
But public health officials are warning that unless trends reverse, the state could face a “staggering” death toll, according to Cronkite News.
The number of hospitalized COVID cases statewide has declined from July peaks but has ticked upward in recent weeks as the virus has begun to spread more rapidly. ADHS reported that as of Nov. 4, 1,100 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state, the highest it has been since Aug. 18. That number peaked with 3,517 hospitalized COVID patients on July 13; it hit a subsequent low of 468 on Sept. 27.
A total of 1,007 people visited emergency rooms on Nov. 4 with COVID symptoms, topping 1,000 for the first time since Aug. 26. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7; it hit a subsequent low of 653 on Sept. 28.
A total of 254 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Nov. 4. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13 and hit a subsequent low of 114 on Sept. 22.
On a week-by-week basis in Pima County, the number of positive COVID tests peaked the week ending July 4 with 2,452 cases, according to an Oct. 29 report from the Pima County Health Department.
Pima County saw a big bump in cases following the return of UA students, followed by a steady decline and then a big bump upward. For the week ending Sept. 19, 1,230 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 26, 615 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 3, 533 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 10, 465 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 17, 512 cases were reported; and for the week ending Oct. 24, 829 cases were reported.
Deaths in Pima County are down from a peak of 54 in the week ending July 4 to 10 in the week ending Sept. 5, one in the week ending Sept. 12, three in the week ending Sept. 19, four in the week ending Sept. 26, four in the week ending Oct. 3, two in the week ending Oct 10, and zero in the subsequent weeks.
Hospitalization peaked the week ending July 18 with 221 COVID patients admitted to Pima County hospitals, but it has been on the rise in recent weeks. In the week ending Sept. 19, 17 patients were admitted; in the week ending Sept. 26, 15 people were admitted; in the week ending Oct. 3, 20 patients were admitted; in the week ending Oct. 10, 27 people were admitted; in the week ending Oct. 17, 35 people were admitted; and in the week ending Oct. 24, 28 people were admitted. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Get tested: Pima County offers free COVID testing, UA offering antibody testing
The Pima County Health Department has four free testing centers around town with easy-to-schedule appointments—often with same-day availability—with results in 24 to 72 hours.
You’ll have a nasal swab test at the Kino Event Center (2805 E. Ajo Way) the Udall Center (7200 E. Tanque Verde Road) and downtown (88 E. Broadway). The center at the northside Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center, 1660 W. Ruthrauff Road, involves a saliva test designed by ASU.
Schedule an appointment at pima.gov/covid19testing.
The University of Arizona’s antibody testing has been opened to all Arizonans as the state attempts to get a handle on how many people have been exposed to COVID-19 but were asymptomatic or otherwise did not get a test while they were ill.
To sign up for testing, visit https://covid19antibodytesting.arizona.edu/home.
Wednesday, November 4, 2020
Pima County election officials announced today that somewhere between 26,000 and 34,000 ballots from yesterday's election remained to be counted. Those ballots must have their signatures verified by the County Recorder's Office before they can be sent to the Elections Department for tabulation.
In addition, the county has roughly 18,300 provisional ballots that have to be verified. Provisional ballots come when there's some question about whether someone has already voted early, is possibly voting in the wrong precinct or has run into a different snafu. In most elections, roughly 80 to 85 percent of those ballots get counted, according to a county press release.
The Elections Department will begin counting early ballots this afternoon, with new results expected by the end of the day. Tabulation will continue tomorrow.
This story has been updated to reflect new vote totals.
With an unknown number of early ballots in Pima County and at least 400,000 votes left to count statewide (per the Arizona Republic), the race for to fill three seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission shifted last night as more votes were counted.
While the top vote-getter remains Democrat Anna Tovar (with 18 percent of the vote), former Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President and GOP candidate Lea Marquez Peterson has moved into second place (with 17 percent of the vote). Meanwhile, Republican James O’Connor (with 17 percent of the vote) has slid into third place, pushing Democrat Bill Mundell into fourth place (with 16 percent of the vote).
The three top vote-getters will join Democrat Sandra Kennedy and Republican Justin Olson on the five-member panel.
The new commissioners will serve four-year terms on the state’s regulatory body overseeing public service utilities as well as regulating corporations.
In the race to fill three seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission, the Democratic slate of Anna Tovar (with 19 percent of the vote), William Mundell (with 17 percent of the vote) and Shea Stanfield (with 17 percent of the vote) is out ahead of the three Republican candidates, Lea Marquez Peterson (16 percent), James "Jim" O'Connor (16 percent and Eric Sloan (15 percent).
With 814 new cases reported today, the number of Arizona’s confirmed novel coronavirus cases topped 250,000 as of Wednesday, Nov. 4, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Pima County, which saw its number of cases jump by 150 yesterday, had seen 29,291 of the state’s 250,633 confirmed cases.
With 39 new deaths reported yesterday, a total of 6,059 Arizonans had died after contracting COVID-19, including 647 deaths in Pima County, according to the Nov. 4 report.
Although the current rise in COVID-19 cases is alarming, Gov. Doug Ducey warned last week there’s even worse to come.
“We know that there is a storm ahead of us, yet it’s not here,” Ducey said. “But those simple guidelines of wearing a mask, washing our hands, being socially distanced and using common sense have served us very well to date.”
However, the governor doesn’t plan on imposing new safety restrictions to prevent further spread of COVID-19.
“The mitigation that we’ve put out, the plan we put into effect remains in effect. I am proud that Arizona is open, that our economy is open, that our educational institutions are open and our tourist destinations are open,” Ducey said. “While at the same time, we do have mitigation steps in place that have allowed us to protect lives while protecting livelihoods, and we’re gonna continue to do that.”
The number of hospitalized COVID cases statewide has declined from July peaks but has ticked upward in recent weeks as the virus has begun to spread more rapidly and jumped by more than 100 yesterday. ADHS reported that as of Nov. 3, 1.065 COVID patients were hospitalized in the state, topping 1,000 for the first time since Aug. 21. That number peaked with 3,517 hospitalized COVID patients on July 13; it hit a subsequent low of 468 on Sept. 27.
A total of 989 people visited emergency rooms on Nov. 3 with COVID symptoms. That number peaked at 2,008 on July 7; it hit a subsequent low of 653 on Sept. 28.
A total of 241 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care unit beds on Nov. 3. The number of COVID patients in ICUs peaked at 970 on July 13 and hit a subsequent low of 114 on Sept. 22.
On a week-by-week basis in Pima County, the number of positive COVID tests peaked the week ending July 4 with 2,452 cases, according to an Oct. 29 report from the Pima County Health Department.
Pima County saw a big bump in cases following the return of UA students, followed by a steady decline and then a big bump upward. For the week ending Sept. 19, 1,230 cases were reported; for the week ending Sept. 26, 615 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 3, 533 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 10, 465 cases were reported; for the week ending Oct. 17, 512 cases were reported; and for the week ending Oct. 24, 829 cases were reported.
Deaths in Pima County are down from a peak of 54 in the week ending July 4 to 10 in the week ending Sept. 5, one in the week ending Sept. 12, three in the week ending Sept. 19, four in the week ending Sept. 26, four in the week ending Oct. 3, two in the week ending Oct 10, and zero in the subsequent weeks.
Hospitalization peaked the week ending July 18 with 221 COVID patients admitted to Pima County hospitals, but it has been on the rise in recent weeks. In the week ending Sept. 19, 17 patients were admitted; in the week ending Sept. 26, 15 people were admitted; in the week ending Oct. 3, 20 patients were admitted; in the week ending Oct. 10, 27 people were admitted; in the week ending Oct. 17, 35 people were admitted; and in the week ending Oct. 24, 28 people were admitted. (Recent weeks are subject to revision.)
Get tested: Pima County offers free COVID testing, UA offering antibody testing
The Pima County Health Department has four free testing centers around town with easy-to-schedule appointments—often with same-day availability—with results in 24 to 72 hours.
You’ll have a nasal swab test at the Kino Event Center (2805 E. Ajo Way) the Udall Center (7200 E. Tanque Verde Road) and downtown (88 E. Broadway). The center at the northside Ellie Towne Flowing Wells Community Center, 1660 W. Ruthrauff Road, involves a saliva test designed by ASU.
Schedule an appointment at pima.gov/covid19testing.
The University of Arizona’s antibody testing has been opened to all Arizonans as the state attempts to get a handle on how many people have been exposed to COVID-19 but were asymptomatic or otherwise did not get a test while they were ill.
To sign up for testing, visit https://covid19antibodytesting.arizona.edu/home.
