Tuesday, August 24, 2021
WASHINGTON – Arizona is on pace to record its 1 millionth COVID-19 infection within the next week, and health experts fear that kids in schools and the looming Labor Day holiday will only make matters worse.
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 979,580 cases as of Friday and its data shows that the state had been averaging 2,941 new cases every day over the past week, as the highly contagious delta variant continued its spread.
Another 53 people died Friday from COVID-19 in Arizona, bringing the death toll in the state to 18,561.
Despite the surge in new cases, health experts said that Arizona continues to lack aggressive mitigation efforts that they said could stem the tide.
“For some time, you certainly haven’t been as aggressive with mask-wearing and vaccination,” Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said of the state.
State officials have refused to issue a mask mandate and Gov. Doug Ducey this week issued an order banning local governments from enforcing vaccination requirements. That came the same week that Ducey unveiled a “relief program” that would direct federal COVID-19 funds to schools that do not enforce mask mandates.
Given the lax mandates in the state, Benjamin said residents have an even greater “degree of personal responsibility” for fighting the virus, especially with the upcoming Labor Day holiday that he expects will worsen exposure.
Saturday, August 21, 2021
Students in the Marana School District joined a growing number of classrooms across the state in wearing masks when indoors.
The Marana Unified School District governing board voted 3-2 at a special meeting on Friday to require universal use of masks when indoors on school property and district buses.
The mask requirement starts Monday and will continue until Sept. 29, when a new state law banning mask requirements goes into effect. Masks will remain optional outdoors and exemptions will be provided for medical, religious and specific instructional reasons.
The board considered the mask mandate after Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner ruled in favor of Phoenix Union High School District, stating the district did not violate state law with its mask mandate, because the law prohibiting schools from mandating masks does not go into effect until Sept 29, 90 days after the legislative session adjourns.
Marana followed the Sunnyside Unified School District, when its board passed the mask requirement on Thursday, and several other districts, including Tucson Unified, Catalina Foothills, Amphitheater and Flowing Wells.
As of Friday, Marana had the second-highest number of cases reported since July 20 with 184, according to data from the Pima County Health Department. The Vail School District, which does not require masks, tops the list with 186 since July 20.
Vail began the school year earlier than other districts. Its governing board voted to make masks optional at their June 8 meeting and has not revisited that decision. The number of COVID-19 cases has dropped from the peak of 69 cases reported as of Aug. 1 to 35 cases reported between Aug. 6 and Aug. 15.
Marana Unified governing board member Tom Carlson, who opposed the motion along with Dan Post, said he was told by Superintendent Dan Streeter that the district may be over-reporting COVID-19 cases by 40%, because they report cases contracted outside of the school environment. He believes this would put them on par with the Amphitheater Unified School District, which had 67 active cases of COVID-19 as of Friday.
Pima County Health Department Director Dr. Theresa Cullen has said some school cases are contracted in the community, not in the classroom. The standing order for the health department published on Aug. 17 requires that schools report all positive cases to the department and the health department does not specify where they were contracted. Marana reported 153 active cases on Friday. They will update the dashboard in about a week, said district spokesperson Alli Benjamin.
The Tucson Unified School District governing board voted to require masks on Aug. 5, before the ruling on mask mandates. The district reported 142 cases since July 20 and, as of Aug 20, had 63 active cases.
Catalina Foothills and Flowing Wells announced they would implement mask requirements this week, but reported fewer cases since July 20, with 11 and 22 cases respectively as of Aug. 20. They are the only two school districts that have required masks despite relatively low numbers.
As of Friday, the Sunnyside and Amphitheater school districts reported 92 and 65 cases since July 20.
Dr. Joe Gerald, an epidemiologist who has tracked COVID’s transmission since it first arrived in March 2020, noted that in the week ending Aug. 15, children accounted for roughly one-fourth of all COVID cases and for the first time, the rates of cases among children aged 5 to 9 and aged 10 to 14 surpassed those of all other age groups. Gerald said he expected more outbreaks in schools, especially those that don't follow strict mitigation protocols.
“Resumption of in-person instruction in the face of high community transmission, low vaccination rates, prohibition of universal masking, lack of surveillance testing, and minimal physical distancing is leading to frequent school-related outbreaks and has the potential to accelerate community transmission,” Gerald wrote in his weekly update on the spread of the virus. “On a positive note, several K-12 and university systems are challenging the governor’s prohibition of mask mandates.”
Thursday, August 19, 2021
As health experts have predicted, COVID-19 is spreading in Pima County schools.
As of Thursday, the Pima County Health Department reported 836 cases in schools since July 20. Staff accounted for a little more than 100 of those cases, while the rest were students. The county has declared 31 outbreaks in schools.
Along with school cases, Arizona and the county have a high level of transmission of 282 and 172 cases per 100,000 individuals, respectively, for the week of Aug 8.
Last school year, the CDC recommended schools should switch to virtual instruction when they are in an area of high transmission, unless they can successfully implement all mitigation strategies and have few cases.
Prior to the start of this school year, the CDC emphasized the importance of in-person learning and made it a priority to safely return to in-person instruction in the fall 2021. Given the rise in cases since June due to the highly contagious Delta variant, the CDC changed the guidance on masking, recommending universal masking when indoors for K-12 schools on Aug. 4. But the CDC has yet to return to guidance provided last year regarding virtual learning.
Pima County Health Department Director Dr. Theresa Cullen said they do not know at what point the health department would recommend a return to hybrid or virtual instruction, but instead are “doing everything they can to keep schools open.”
“We believe students need to be in school,” said Cullen.
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
Banner Health is reporting a troubling increase in hospitalizations of COVID-19, coupled with a higher-than-average number of non-COVID patients.
Last week, the number of ICU patients in Arizona, for both COVID and non-COVID patients, reached the peak numbers of those seen in the summer 2020 surge, said Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Marjorie Bessel at a media conference Wednesday morning.
She reported only 30% of those patients are COVID positive, compared to the last surge when 50 to 60% were COVID positive. Bessel believes the high number of non-COVID patients in the ICU is partly due to patients delaying care in 2020 because of the pandemic and are now seeking care for illnesses and medical issues that have become more severe.
“The high number of non-COVID patients that we were caring for coupled with the week over week increase in COVID hospitalizations is troubling,” said Bessel.
During the past week, she said they continue to see an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and ventilator usage. Banner has also seen exponential growth in pediatric COVID hospitalizations. In the first two weeks of August, Banner had as many pediatric COVID admissions as they did the entire month of June, according to Bessel. She said they are on track to surpass the number of pediatric COVID patients seen during the winter surge.
Due to the rise in cases and decreased hospital capacity, the Pima County Health Department updated its Public Health Advisory on Tuesday.
Similar to Banner, Pima County hospitals are seeing more people coming to the ER for reasons other than COVID-19, such as heart attacks, RSV and sepsis, who require hospital admission. According to the Public Health Advisory, local hospitals are also experiencing abnormally long wait times for EMS to be able to transfer care of their patient to the hospital staff, becoming unable to respond to other emergencies.
The Pima County Health Department said “It is NOT the norm for area hospitals to be experiencing such high hospital admission rates, reduced hospital surge capacity and long EMS offload times at this time of year.”
Alongside decreased hospital capacity, area hospitals face severe nursing workforce shortages due to high rates of turnover and burnout from the pandemic.
Banner Health has several core positions available and is securing external contracted labor for both nurses and therapists. Bessel said they have individuals who are starting each week and expect that to continue throughout the winter. Banner is requiring all employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine by Nov. 1 and would include vaccination in the onboarding process for new employees. Bessel does not believe this requirement will have a large impact as many other health care systems in the communities they operate have a similar process.
“We do expect that staffing will continue to be our greatest challenge as we continue to face this surge,” said Bessel.
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Following advice from the Centers for Disease Control, the Pima County Health Department announced Tuesday that immunocompromised people should get a COVID booster shot.
Qualifying people, such as those taking an immune-suppressing medication, can get the third shot 28 days after completing the initial Pfizer or Moderna mRNA vaccines. People who are not deemed immunocompromised are yet not eligible for the booster.
The CDC recommends the third shot for moderately to severely immunocompromised individuals. On Friday, the CDC said the booster would benefit compromised people by building a stronger resistance to COVID-19.
The third dose has only been approved to follow the Pfizer/Moderna vaccines. It is also recommended people receive the same brand of vaccine and booster shots. If your brand is unavailable, the other booster shot can be used.
Pfizer vaccines have been approved for people 12 and older while Moderna is approved for people 18 and older.
Pima County will be offering the Pfizer and Moderna booster shots at the following locations:
Theresa Lee Public Health Center, 1493 W. Commerce Court- Monday, Tuesday: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Wednesday: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
- Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Monday: 8 a.m. to noon
- Wednesday, Friday: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Thursday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Monday, Thursday: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Tuesday: 8 a.m. to noon
- Friday: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Monday-Saturday: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Find a mobile vaccination event at pima.gov/covid19vaccine
Request a home vaccination through the Pima County at-home vaccine interest form online or call 520-222-0119.
Monday, August 16, 2021
The Catalina Foothills and Amphitheater school districts will require universal use of masks indoors effective Tuesday.
The district informed families and staff in a Monday email that it would require masking indoors, regardless of vaccination status, because of the ruling in the case against Phoenix Union High School District’s mask mandate.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Randall Warner ruled that the district did not violate a state law prohibiting schools from mandating masks, since it does not go into effect until Sept 29, 90 days after the legislative session adjourns.
Catalina Foothills updated their mitigation plan and said “it is aligned with federal, state and county public health guidance.”
Amphi will also require staff and students, regardless of vaccination status, to wear masks while indoors on school district property and on district buses, beginning Tuesday. Superintendent Todd Jaeger notified parents and staff of the new policy through a letter sent out on Monday afternoon.
Jaeger cited the recommendation of health officials that students should wear masks in schools, including guidance from the CDC, the Arizona Department of Health Services, the Pima County Health Department, and the American Association of Pediatrics. He also noted the increase in COVID-19 cases, particularly outbreaks in their schools. On Monday, one school in the district had 23% of the student body absent due to illness, Jaeger said.
A number of local music venues will be requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to attend shows starting next month.
The Rialto Theatre, Club Congress, 191 Toole and the Fox Theatre announced Monday that they were part of a group of Arizona venues that would take the step by Sept. 20.
All four venues are in the process of reopening and will require patrons to wear masks at upcoming indoor shows before the vaccination policy kicks into place.
“The Rialto Theatre Foundation is extremely excited for our incredible lineup of shows,” said Cathy Rivers, executive director of the Rialto Theatre Foundation. “But with that said, we feel it’s important to be a part of keeping our community safe. Those of us who can get vaccinated should, so we protect those in our community who cannot. We hope to see you at a show enjoying live music again while also taking safety measures to look out for all of our community.”
She added that people should be careful about carrying their vaccine cards.
“I personally recommend people don't carry around their vaccine card,” Rivers said. “I would take a picture of it, put it in your wallet app on your phone, or make a photocopy of the card and keep that in your wallet.”
The Rialto has a wide range of performances in the coming weeks such as Amigo the Devil (Friday, Aug. 20), Neko Case (Monday, Aug. 23), and the Flaming Lips (Tuesday, Aug. 24). In addition, 191 Toole—a smaller warehouse venue that is also managed by the Rialto Theater Foundation—will have Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears (Friday, Aug. 20), Sian (Saturday, Aug. 21) and Nanpa Básico (Friday, Aug. 27).
Dave Slutes, entertainment director at Hotel Congress, said concert-goers would have to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test to attend shows inside the legendary Club Congress, but not for shows on the outdoor patio. Slutes said Hotel Congress will continue to follow CDC guidance, as well as honoring artist requests regarding COVID protocol.
Slutes said there has been a lot of interest in the return of live music.
"COVID aside, the artists have been eager to get back out there, tickets have been selling like hotcakes, people have been very eager to see live music again," he said.
But he said there have been unexpected challenges, from the Delta wave to technical issues.
"Did you know that disco lights go bad if you don’t use them for 18 months?" Slutes said.
"Partly what triggered it at this exact moment is it's a changing time in the industry," Schock said. "AEG, Live Nation, and Broadway League have all put out this basic policy over the last week. AEG and Live Nation are major players in the national concert industry and we work with many of their artists. It's important for all of us to cooperate for the industry to work."
On Thursday, Aug. 19, the Fox will present The Mavericks, with the genre-bending band with country and Mexican influences performing their new album, En Español.
“We certainly chose the Mavericks very intentionally,” Schock said. “They've got ties to the Tucson community and the bassist is from here.”
The Mavericks show kicks a packed fall season for The Fox. Schock says she’s “excited to get the venue sparkling and shining again, but at the same time we have some worry because we don't have any control over what happens next.”
Fox staff and volunteers are required to be vaccinated and Schock urged audience members to get vaccinated before shows.
The CDC recently urged vaccinated and unvaccinated people to wear masks indoors in public spaces because the Delta variant is highly contagious. COVID is making a comeback here in Pima County, which recently moved into the “high transmission” category, according to the CDC.
Schock said Tucson has a hunger for live music, adding this season’s sales are breaking records, which is welcome news for Schock after 18 months of zero revenue. The live entertainment industry was one of the hardest hit by COVID and the Fox, the Rialto and Hotel Congress had to lay off most of its operational staff.
Both the Fox and Rialto are reopening with help from the Shuttered Venue Operations Grant from the Small Business Administration.
“I mean we wouldn't have been able to consider reopening with the number of shows that we put on sale at this point with zero revenue,” Schock said. “It was absolutely essential to our ability to book artists and to prepare the venue.”
Sunday, August 15, 2021
The Arizona Education Association and a coalition of education organizations and supporters filed a lawsuit against the state over the constitutionality of the ban on K-12 mask mandates on Thursday.
The Arizona Education Association, the largest professional association for public school employees in Arizona, argues the provisions included in the K-12 budget bill, prohibiting school districts from requiring masks and the COVID-19 vaccine for students and staff are unconstitutional, as they are unrelated to the budget.
According to the lawsuit filed by AEA, the law violates the single subject and title requirements for legislation and equal protection grounds as set forth in the Arizona Constitution,
“Governor Ducey and the GOP legislative leadership are putting our children in harm’s way and our communities at risk,” says AEA President Joe Thomas. “Their actions are reckless and abusive. By tying the hands of our local school board leaders, lawmakers are preventing them from making decisions to keep our students safe.”
Several school districts across Arizona, including Tucson Unified School District, opted to require masks in schools in opposition to the Governor. As of Tuesday, TUSD Board member Adelita Grijalva said the district had yet to receive a letter from the Governor’s office, but expected it to arrive after the legislation technically comes into effect on Sept. 29, 90 days after the session adjourns.
“We know the majority of parents and our educators support our school leaders doing everything they can to keep our students and staff safe and healthy,” says Thomas. “We’re seeing more and more school districts taking steps to protect their students and communities. But they shouldn’t have to break the law to implement common sense protections for our students. We urge lawmakers to listen to their constituents and make the right decision to ensure our classrooms and campuses are safe so we can keep our students learning in our classrooms.”
Ducey spokesman C.J. Karamargin said, “We're confident the legislation we signed is completely constitutional.”
Friday, August 13, 2021
Arizona is going through “Groundhog Day” with the COVID-19 pandemic: People are getting sick, again. Arizona is once more in a COVID surge, just like a year ago — but with two notable differences. Last summer, schools reopened in the setting of slowly declining COVID rates; right now, COVID cases and hospitalization rates are continuing to dramatically rise. In addition, schools are now left without key tools for keeping students and educators safe.
Since the outbreaks we saw in July 2020 and throughout the winter months, the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature passed, and Gov. Doug Ducey signed, a law taking away local control from schools that want to implement science-based safety protections such as wearing masks. As parents, physicians, and public health experts, we have one simple message for them: Get rid of this senseless law now, which endangers the lives of children, teachers, school staff and their neighbors and loved ones.
This law will prevent what we all want: for children to be able to safely and consistently remain physically present in schools, and for parents to be able to safely keep working. Children who fall ill with or who are exposed to COVID-19 will need to quarantine at home, and their parents or guardians will need to remain at home to quarantine with them, preventing them from going to work. If schools are prohibited from requiring universal masking together with other mitigation strategies, expect to see repeated outbreaks and increasing absences from both schools and other workplaces for 10 to 14 day stretches throughout the school year.
Furthermore, this law is an overreach by the state, setting a dangerous precedent in preventing public health agencies from leading us through the current and future public health crises. To keep people safe, we need credible and qualified public health professionals providing guidance based on the most up to date science during a public health crisis — not legislators, a lame duck Governor, or political appointees more concerned about partisanship than the health of their citizens.
Physicians, nurses, and all healthcare workers are exhausted from being expected to clean up the mess that results from this hostility towards evidence based public health measures, as well as attacks on our integrity from political pawns. Physicians specifically take an oath to do no harm, and are held to the highest ethical and practice standards of any profession. To deliberately undermine the work of those who have dedicated their lives to saving others during one of the worst pandemics in modern history is not just tragic, but inexcusable.
