Arizona Republic: COVID-19 cases in Arizona dropped 75% after mask mandates began, report says. “COVID-19 cases in Arizona spiked 151% after a statewide stay-at-home order expired and dropped 75% following local mask mandates, a new report says.”
Arizona
KAWC: Prosecutors to Create Arizona Database For Questionable Officers
KAWC: Prosecutors to Create Arizona Database For Questionable Officers. “But an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union says it appears to be little more than ‘window dressing’ on what he contends is a flawed system. Jared Keenan said that still gives prosecutors a lot of leeway to refuse to add someone to the list and, more to the point, refuse to disclose to defense attorneys exactly what it is that caused that officer’s name to be added. And the new database itself is of little use to the public who may want to know more about the police or deputies in their community.”
Courier: Dozens of Arizona Teachers Quit While Schools Attempt to Reopen Classrooms
Courier: Dozens of Arizona Teachers Quit While Schools Attempt to Reopen Classrooms. “In Arizona, some parents and students cheered when certain school districts decided to try to reopen classrooms Monday despite not yet meeting the state’s COVID-19 benchmarks. But in one district, teachers concerned about their safety took back control.”
Sedona .biz: Sedona Heritage Museum Launches Online ‘Arizona’s Little Hollywood’ Photo Collection
Sedona. biz: Sedona Heritage Museum Launches Online ‘Arizona’s Little Hollywood’ Photo Collection. “The Sedona Historical Society announces that their newest and third historic photo collection is now available for view and research as part of the Arizona Memory Project. Entitled ‘Arizona’s Little Hollywood’, the 80+ photos chosen represent only a portion of the photos held by the Society that capture memorable moments in Sedona’s film-making history.”
Slate: Why Arizona’s Top Coronavirus Expert Quit
Slate: Why Arizona’s Top Coronavirus Expert Quit. “Back in March, Arizona was averaging fewer than 200 cases of COVID-19 a day. The numbers were increasing, but at the time they were nowhere near those of places like New York City. If there was one person in Arizona who felt she was prepared to take on the coronavirus, it’s Wendy Smith-Reeve, who’d served as director of the Arizona Division of Emergency Management. But when she found that her efforts were being stymied by a governor’s office that often went over her head, she handed in her resignation. Now Smith-Reeve looks at her state, which has more than 165,000 cases and 3,000 deaths, and thinks the current situation could have been prevented, had the state government let her system work.”
The Hill: GOP governors in Texas, Arizona, Georgia, Florida see approval sink
The Hill: GOP governors in Texas, Arizona, Georgia, Florida see approval sink. “Republican governors four states with surging coronavirus case numbers have seen their approval ratings sink in recent weeks, according to survey data obtained by Axios. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp all had disapproval ratings of 55 percent or higher in the survey taken between July 13 and July 19.”
Washington Post: Arizona reopened early to revive its economy. Now, its workers and businesses face even greater devastation.
Washington Post: Arizona reopened early to revive its economy. Now, its workers and businesses face even greater devastation.. “Hundreds of thousands of people are still out of a job, some for the second time this year. Restaurants, gyms and other companies are closing up shop once again — perhaps for good. Even government officials say they are bracing for a crippling blow, with the latest shutdown expected to cleave further into their still-souring finances.”
Tucson .com: Tucson’s funeral homes ‘close to running out of room’ because of coronavirus deaths
Tucson .com: Tucson’s funeral homes ‘close to running out of room’ because of coronavirus deaths. “The situation has gotten scary at Carillo’s Tucson Mortuary, says April Seybert. For the last few weeks, the family-owned funeral home that’s been serving Tucsonans for over a century has been doing two funerals and two cremations a day. It has handled 50 more funerals this year than it did at the same point last year.”
AZ Central: As Trump pushes to reopen schools, Arizona school leaders face more uncertainty
AZ Central: As Trump pushes to reopen schools, Arizona school leaders face more uncertainty. “As President Donald Trump’s administration pushes for schools to reopen on time, a small community in eastern Arizona is reeling from the death of a teacher who contracted COVID-19 after she taught summer school virtually while in the same room as two other teachers. The school district’s superintendent, Jeff Gregorich, said three teachers went above and beyond in taking precautions against the spread of the virus while teaching in the same room, but all three contracted COVID-19.”
USA Today: Florida sees worrying spike in coronavirus cases, potential to ‘overwhelm our hospitals’ after reopening
USA Today: Florida sees worrying spike in coronavirus cases, potential to ‘overwhelm our hospitals’ after reopening. “Texas and Arizona were among the first states to take a leap of faith in May by reopening their economies from lockdown orders meant to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. But in the weeks that followed, new COVID-19 cases began to gradually climb in both states. Then, after bars, gyms, hair and nail salons and other places not conducive to social distancing reopened, new cases skyrocketed. Now both states are seeing a growing number of COVID-19-related deaths as hospitals reach capacity to handle new patients.”
AZ Central: Arizona COVID-19 cases surpass 100,000 as weekslong spikes continue
AZ Central: Arizona COVID-19 cases surpass 100,000 as weekslong spikes continue. “Known cases of COVID-19 in Arizona passed 100,000 on Monday, just over five months since the first case was identified in Maricopa County in late January and just over two weeks since the case count passed 50,000.”
KJZZ: New Program Provides Free Crisis Counseling To Arizonans Impacted By Coronavirus
KJZZ: New Program Provides Free Crisis Counseling To Arizonans Impacted By Coronavirus. “The Resilient Arizona Crisis Counseling program is now available for free to people statewide. It’s being done in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) at the federal level, and the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) at the state level.” This is mostly an audio article, but the text appears to contain all the salient information.
Verify: Contrary to social media claims, there’s no evidence Arizona is ‘double-counting’ positive tests for coronavirus (12 News)
12 News: Verify: Contrary to social media claims, there’s no evidence Arizona is ‘double-counting’ positive tests for coronavirus. “You may have noticed more than a few social media skeptics about Arizona’s soaring coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. They just don’t trust the numbers. We verified whether the state Department of Health Services, the repository of the data, is ‘double-counting’ positive coronavirus tests. On Sunday, Arizona posted a single-day record high of 3,857 cases. Before Gov. Doug Ducey reopened the state six weeks ago, 1 in 20 tests was positive. Today, 1 in every 5 tests are returning as positive, according to DHS.”
Politico: A Sun Belt time bomb threatens Trump’s reelection
Politico: A Sun Belt time bomb threatens Trump’s reelection. “Republican governors in Florida, Arizona and Texas followed Trump’s lead by quickly reopening their states while taking a lax approach to social distancing and mask-wearing. Now each of them is seeing skyrocketing coronavirus caseloads and rising hospitalizations, and Republican leaders are in retreat. It’s hard to overstate the gravity of the situation for Trump: Lose any one of the three states, and his reelection is all but doomed.”
Washington Post: How Arizona ‘lost control of the epidemic’
Washington Post: How Arizona ‘lost control of the epidemic’. “Arizona has emerged as an epicenter of the early summer coronavirus crisis as the outbreak has expanded, flaring across new parts of the country and, notably, infecting more young people. Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, is recording as many as 2,000 cases a day, ‘eclipsing the New York City boroughs even on their worst days,’ warned a Wednesday brief by disease trackers at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, which observed, ‘Arizona has lost control of the epidemic.'”