The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona jumped past 39,000 as of Tuesday, June 16, after the state reported a record new 2,392 new cases reported this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.

Pima County had 4,329 of the state's 39,097 confirmed cases.

On June 1, the state had 20,123 confirmed cases.

A total of 1,219 people have died after contracting the virus.

Maricopa County has more than half the state's cases, with the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases hitting  20,775.

Because symptoms can take as long as two weeks to appear after exposure to the virus (while some people can remain entirely asymptomatic), health officials continue to urge the public to avoid unnecessary trips and gatherings of more than 10 people, especially if you have underlying health conditions, and have advised people to cover their faces with masks in public.

Although Gov. Doug Ducey told Arizonans that the state "was clearly on the other side of this pandemic" when he lifted his stay-at-home order on in mid-May, Arizona hospitals continue to see a steady rise in the number of people hospitalized with COVID symptoms, as well as more people visiting emergency rooms.

This morning's Arizona Department of Health Services report shows that as of yesterday, a record 1,506 Arizonans were hospitalized, a jump of 497 from June 1. A record number total of 956 people arrived at emergency rooms with COVID-like symptoms on June 15, according to the report. Previous to June, the number of people seeking help in emergency rooms never topped 667, but the daily number hasn't dipped below 800 since June 5. The number of patients in ICU beds hit a new record of 502 yesterday.


Tucson officials, including Mayor Regina Romero and Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik, have asked Ducey to allow local communities to set their own standards to reduce the rapid spread of COVID-19. Under his executive order, Ducey has prohibited local jurisdictions from setting standards tougher than state regulations.

Romero yesterday urged Ducey "to remove the restrictions he has placed on local governments from taking their own public health measures."

"For example, I believe that face masks should be mandatory in areas of the state with high community transmission for indoor spaces where social distancing is not feasible," Romero said. "Gov. Ducey needs to untie the hands of local governments and allow us to make decisions that are in the best interest of our communities and account for local conditions."

Ducey, who has rarely been seen with a mask or face covering and whose administration has frequently neglected to include the advice in various health advisories it has sent out, said last week he did wear them while shopping when he cannot physically distance from others by at least 6 feet. He advised Arizonans to wear them if they felt comfortable doing so.

Despite the rising number of hospitalizations, Gov. Doug Ducey said last week there's no reason to be concerned about hospital capacity.

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Halfway through June already! Let's look at the stories that we covered today:

• The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Arizona jumped past 36,000 as of Monday, June 15, with a jump of 1,014 new cases reported this morning, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
• The Bighorn Fire is now approximately 14,600 acres and is 22 percent contained.
• For weeks, Rachel Willard, the county health director in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, had watched with alarm as COVID-19 cases rolled in from the Tyson Foods chicken plant in the center of town.
• In late March, as the number of COVID-19 cases was growing exponentially in the state, Cuomo said New York hospitals might need twice as many beds as they normally have.
• Two weeks after the polls closed in this year’s Ohio primary, two U.S. Postal Service employees showed up in the office of Diane Noonan, the director of elections in Butler County. The workers carried a tray of 317 unopened ballots that had been sitting in a Postal Service warehouse since the day before the election.
• Escape the summer heat (and quarantine) with the rocking sound of live music, happening every week at The Gaslight Music Hall in Oro Valley. Dance with your friends, enjoy some tunes, and snack on the region’s best pizza.
• Customs and Border Protection officials spent funds that were supposed to go to medical care and migrant processing facilities to pay for computer upgrades, canine units, ATVs and other items instead, a new government report shows.
• If you have kids, summer in Arizona usually contains many trips to the pool, splash pads, museums, or summer camp. This year has been a bit different.
• Sundt Construction Co. and its partner Kiewit picked up an award for their joint efforts on the Ina Road Traffic Interchange earlier this month, the companies announced in a press release.
• Local financial firm Hughes Federal Credit Union recently earned awards for its website, inclusivity initiatives and marketing strategies by Progress Software and the Credit Union National Association, the company announced Monday.
• The University of Arizona will now offer a Master of Arts in Bilingual Journalism, which is expected to prepare future journalists to “cover complex issues affecting Latinx people in the U.S. and abroad,” according to a press release from the UA’s School of Journalism.

The University of Arizona will now offer a Master of Arts in Bilingual Journalism, which is expected to prepare future journalists to “cover complex issues affecting Latinx people in the U.S. and abroad,” according to a press release from the UA’s School of Journalism.

Associate Professor Jessica Retis will head the master’s program beginning in the fall of 2021. She has spent years researching Latino news and was a journalist for 20 years in Peru, Mexico and Spain.

Retis aims to help students understand the history, economics, politics and cultures of diverse groups. The title of “bilingual journalism” will entail much more than just being able to interview sources in two languages.

"Our program seeks to train journalists to understand these complexities,” she said.