Arizona COVID-19 cumulative counts, Dec. 14
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Select regional and national coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic as of Tuesday, May 5. For more coverage, visit our resource page. This story may be updated.
First weekend 'testing blitz' falls short for Pima County
AZPM, May 5
Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry is disappointed with the early results from Arizona's statewide "testing blitz" for the coronavirus.
At Tuesday's meeting of the Board of Supervisors, Huckelberry suggested, diplomatically, that the blitz was a bust.
"The results of the Arizona testing blitz, at least from our perspective, was not as what was anticipated," he said.
Trump tours, touts mask factory — but no mask for him
AP, May 5 (date corrected)
PHOENIX (AP) — President Donald Trump is making himself Exhibit A in his determination to move past the coronavirus crisis, even as COVID-19 continues to spread.
He visited an Arizona face mask factory - his first trip out of Washington in more than a month. But he did not wear a mask himself. Trump acknowledged that easing restrictions will result, in his words, in some people being “affected badly.” But he said it is imperative to “get our country open” and soon.
The trip came as an Associated Press analysis found infection rates rising even as states start lifting their lockdowns.
US infection rate rising outside New York as states open up
AP, May 5
An Associated Press analysis finds that taking the New York metropolitan area’s progress against the coronavirus out of the equation shows the rest of the U.S. moving in the wrong direction, with the infection rate rising even as states move to lift their lockdowns.
Scientists warn those numbers will only increase as states from Texas to Florida start to ease their own lockdowns. Meanwhile, Britain’s official coronavirus death total surpassed that of Italy to become the highest in Europe and second-highest in the world behind the United States.
News groups sue Arizona to get nursing home virus data
AP, May 5
PHOENIX (AP) — A group of Phoenix-area media organizations is suing the state of Arizona for records detailing coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
The public records lawsuit was filed by attorneys representing the Arizona Republic, ABC15, 12 News, CBS 5 and 3 TV. State officials have cited patient privacy in refusing to name facilities with cases or deaths.
Meanwhile, Arizona's virus death toll rose by 33 to 395 on Tuesday. The Department of Health Services says the number of confirmed cases now exceeds 9,300.
Latest Arizona unemployment numbers a mixed bag
AZPM, May 5
First-time unemployment numbers for the week ending May 1, 2020 continued a downward trend, but the total number of people on unemployment continues to rise, according to the Arizona Department of Economic Security.
Last week, 43,000 Arizona residents filed first-time claims for unemployment. That is a drop of more than 9,000 people when compared to a week earlier. That number is still significantly higher than the average 3,000 people a week who filed in Arizona in January, February and the first two weeks of March.
Federal government releases delayed coronavirus relief funds to tribes
AZPM, May 5
The U.S. Department of Treasury began dispersing 60% of federal coronavirus relief funds set aside for tribal governments Tuesday — a week after tribal nations were supposed to receive the money.
The $4.8 billion chunk of the total CARES Act funds set aside for tribal governments will be split between 574 federally recognized tribal governments. Funds will be allocated based on U.S. Census Bureau data of tribal population, even though American Indians and Alaska Natives living on reservations were undercounted by 4.9% in the 2010 census. According to NBC News, this racial demographic is the most undercounted in the United States.
ASU economists predict swift economic recovery in 2021
Arizona Republic, May 5
Predictions from economists at Arizona State University are placing a light at the end of a tunnel dark from the economic shockwaves of the coronavirus pandemic.
The team expects a recession lasting three to nine months followed by a swift recovery based on expectations around consumer spending and federal stimulus.
Read more at AZCentral.com.
COVID-19 cases increase among Sonoran frontline workers
Fronteras Desk, May 4
Sonoran health officials confirmed Monday that an additional 15 medical workers had tested positive for the coronavirus. In total, 124 of Sonora’s 364 confirmed cases of COVID-19 are health care workers — about 34%.
"Even workers who are not in direct contact with patients are being infected because there aren't adequate protocols," said Sonora Health Department spokesman Gerardo Alvarez said during a press conference Monday.
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