Tuesday, July 7, 2020
A new study led by University of Arizona researchers examines a variety of “nontraditional mask materials” and their ability to protect wearers. The study, published in the Journal of Hospital Infection, compares the risk reduction of materials like scarves, pillowcases, and t-shirt fabric, as well as more common professional masks.
"N99 masks, which are even more efficient at filtering airborne particles than N95 masks, are obviously one of the best options for blocking the virus, as they can reduce average risk by 94 to 99 percent for 20-minute and 30-second exposures, but they can be hard to come by, and there are ethical considerations such as leaving those available for medical professionals," said lead author of the study Amanda Wilson, who works as an environmental health sciences doctoral candidate in the UA’s Department of Community, Environment and Policy.
“We had just been getting things going,” said Maddi Briguglio, a personal trainer at Jab Fitness in Tempe. “Clients had just been getting into their routines, trying to adjust to the new changes of the maximum people and wearing masks and those types of things. Then you find out five hours ahead of time that you can’t do all the things you just changed to adjust to be able to do.”
Ducey’s announcement Monday closing gyms, bars, water parks and movie theaters came at 3 p.m. – and was to take effect at 8.
It was Ducey’s second shutdown order since March.
Mountainside Fitness responded with founder and CEO Tom Hatten filing a lawsuit against the governor and opting to keep doors open at all locations. As a result, the gym was cited Tuesday and the Scottsdale location’s chief operating officer was cited with a class one misdemeanor, reports NBC 12 News.
“This could be any business, anytime, anywhere,” Hatten said in a press conference. “I challenge anybody at this point to walk over to Home Depot, go to a casino, go to a liquor store or to a restaurant to have dinner. Let’s all wait for that decision.”
Larger gyms such as Mountainside Fitness have the funding and resources necessary to fight to keep their doors open. The company ranked No. 31 on Club Industry’s Top 100 Health Clubs of 2019 list with $45 million in reported 2018 revenue.
Update, July 7, 2020: This story has been updated to include a statement from Peter Febo, chief operating officer of Kushner Companies.
Businesses tied to President Donald Trump’s family and associates stand to receive as much as $21 million in government loans designed to shore up payroll expenses for companies struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to federal data released Monday.
A hydroponic lettuce farm backed by Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr., applied for at least $150,000 in Small Business Administration funding. Albert Hazzouri, a dentist frequently spotted at Mar-a-Lago, asked for a similar amount. A hospital run by Maria Ryan, a close associate of Trump lawyer and former mayor Rudy Giuliani, requested more than $5 million. Several companies connected to the president’s son-in-law and White House adviser, Jared Kushner, could get upward of $6 million.
There’s no ban on businesses connected to Trump’s orbit receiving money. Democrats added a provision to the CARES Act excluding government officials and their family members from receiving some bailout funds, but not those from the PPP.
Officials say they will return to the traditional classroom as soon as Aug. 17 but students will be able to continue with online classes if they choose to do so.
Here's the letter from Amphi:
Then COVID-19 hit.
The park was closed from April 1 to May 15, when it began to reopen on a limited basis. Tourists are returning, along with their wallets, but business officials say times are still tough.
“I don’t know if they’re going to be able to hang on,” said Laura Chastain, general manager for the Grand Canyon Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, of some of the smaller businesses in the region. “Being rural, for our community, it really hit people hard.”
The park generates more than $1 billion in economic activity a year for the region, part of the $41.7 billion generated by parks across the country, the National Park Service says. But for the Grand Canyon, revenues fell from $1.2 billion in 2018 to $1.1 billion in 2019, according to the National Park Service’s 2019 Visitor Spending Effects Report.
Business owners were hopeful at the beginning of this year, when the park service’s Monthly Public Use Report showed 19% more visitors at the Grand Canyon in February 2020 than in February 2019. Then, COVID-19 hit and monthly visits in March fell 39% compared to March 2019.
“We were expecting a 20% increase in business over the 2019 season,” said Korey Seyler, general manager for Grand Canyon Adventures. “Unfortunately, things change.”
Chastain said many of the businesses that rely on the park – tour operators like Seyler as well as hotels, restaurants, retail and more – are currently operating only at 30% capacity.
In late June, after three months of near silence on the topic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally weighed in on a question of critical importance to millions of American women and families: How dangerous is the coronavirus for pregnant women and new mothers?
The CDC had been asserting that pregnant women don’t seem to be at higher risk for severe complications from the virus. As recently as late May, a spokesperson told ProPublica, “Current evidence shows pregnant women have the same risk of severe illness from COVID-19 as adults who are not pregnant.”
Then, the agency abruptly changed its tone. In its first examination of U.S. data on COVID-19 in pregnancy, the CDC found that expectant mothers with the virus had a 50% higher chance of being admitted to intensive care and a 70% higher chance of being intubated than nonpregnant women in their childbearing years.
Arizona’s first saliva test – designed by scientists at Arizona State University to make university-wide testing feasible in the fall – already has been administered to more than 6,000 people, according to Vel Murugan, an associate research professor at ASU’s Biodesign Institute. It’s an alternative to nasopharyngeal swabs, which are uncomfortable and can be dangerous to frontline workers.
“We want the full video to be released. Every single video. There were multiple police officers there,” said Viri Hernandez, executive director of Poder in Action, which organized a vigil Monday night. “We want the 911 call in its entirety because we want the family to be able to see that before it’s released to the media.”
Police said Monday afternoon that they were releasing what they could related to the “high-interest case” but that releasing too much now – including video from body cameras worn by the officers who opened fire – “could compromise the investigation.”
In a statement Monday, the department said officers were responding to a 911 call Saturday afternoon from a man who said he had been stabbed the previous week by a man who was back in the neighborhood with a knife and threatening him again. When officers arrived, the caller told them there was a man with a knife and a man with a gun, and directed them to a driveway near 56th Ave and Glenrosa.
Police said they found a man – who has been identified by advocates as James “Jay” Garcia – sitting in a parked car in the driveway. Officers surrounded the car and talked to the man for “approximately 10 minutes” asking him to get out, according to the statement, but he refused, rolling up his windows instead and displaying a handgun.
Today Pima County government announced they contracted Maximus Health & Services, Inc. to boost contact tracing efforts in the region.
Maximus is an outsourcing company that provides business support to government health agencies such as the Pima County Health Department. They will hire about 150 local residents to perform “extensive” contact tracing as directed by the health department, in order to “alert, educate and isolate” individuals who have come in close contact with a person who is COVID-19 positive.
Tags: Pima County , Health Department , COVID19 , Coronavirus , Contact Tracing , Maximus , Theresa Cullen , Image
Although the downtown theatre hasn’t hosted a live performance in months, the Fox Board of Directors has officially decided to suspend programming through December 2020 due to the continued impacts of COVID-19. As of now, scheduled events in 2021 are expected to go forward.
According to a release from the Fox, their Paycheck Protection Program funds are now exhausted, and the theatre is further reducing staff to only four full-time employees – down roughly 40 before the pandemic.
"Such deep staffing reductions are particularly hard because it is people that make the place," said Fox Theatre executive director Bonnie Schock. "The people of Tucson chose to rebuild The Fox 20 years ago. Our dedicated Board, enthusiastic patrons, generous volunteers and tenacious staff have carried that mantle forward. Honestly, it is devastating to see our team disperse. These talented individuals are to be recognized and thanked for all they have done to make The Fox what it is and to advance what it can and will be.”
The Board of Directors also issued the following message: With theatres are closing forever across the nation, employing these strategies now are imperative in ensuring that The Fox has the best possible chance of a strong reopening in the future. The experience of gathering together is central to live performance and the road to recovery for performing arts venues is not a simple V shape. The physical distancing strategies key to fighting the spread of COVID-19 make presenting events at The Fox financially unviable in the coming months.
If you'd like to still support the Fox Theatre, they are hosting two fundraising opportunities on their website:
The Fox Forward: Look to the Future Relief Campaign
Or, apply for a Fox Theatre Membership.
