/ Modified jun 16, 2020 5:05 p.m.

Daily News Roundup: Daily high in COVID-19 cases, Summerhaven evacuation

Recent coverage impacting Southern Arizona, June 16.

Arizona sees nearly 2,400 new virus cases, a daily high

AP

Health officials say the number of new coronavirus cases in Arizona has hit an alarming new daily high of nearly 2,400 — almost double the previous record.

The state Department of Health Services on Tuesday reported 2,392 new cases and 25 additional deaths. Hospital intensive care units were hovering around 80% capacity with 1,307 people with the virus as of Monday.

Arizona has seen a total of 39,097 cases and 1,219 deaths. It’s unclear how many of the new cases are due to expanded testing. Meanwhile, nearly 700 medical providers have signed a letter calling on Ducey to mandate the use of face masks.

Learn more here.


Hundreds of medical providers call on Ducey to mandate masks

ABC15 Arizona

Nearly 700 Arizona medical providers are urging Gov. Doug Ducey to mandate masks in the state.

The letter with 688 signatures came the day before Arizona shattered its record for a single-day increase in reported COVID-19 cases, with 2,392 reported Tuesday morning.

The letter says many residents feel it is safe to go back to normal life and no longer wear masks when in public, and goes on to implore the governor to require Arizonans to wear masks to slow the spread of the virus.

Learn more at ABC15.


Summerhaven ordered to evacuate due to Bighorn Fire

AZPM

Pima County issued a an evacuation order Tuesday afternoon for residents of Summerhaven and Mount Lemmon as a result of the Bighorn Fire.

The "GO" order posted on Pima County Sheriff's Department Twitter account calls for residents of Summerhaven and the surrounding area to "evacuate immediately" due to immediate and life-threatening conditions. Pima County sheriff's officials were going door-to-door to alert residents of the evacuation order.

For more details and a map, click here


First-time unemployment claims in Arizona set weekly record

AZPM

Nearly 150,000 Arizona residents filed first-time unemployment claims last week, a new weekly record for the state.

The data from the Arizona Department of Economic Security shows the number of first-time claims filed for the week ending June 13 rose by 26,000 when compared to the previous week. The week ending April 4 was the highest number of unemployment claims previously. A total of 132,000 first-time claims were filed that week.

The number of claims of continued unemployment also rose last week by nearly 500,000, to 1.4 million.

To see the numbers, click here.


Migrants plead for release as COVID-19 cases surge in ICE detention

AZPM Feature

Shakira Najera Chilel feels like she’s faced death before. As a transgender woman, she dealt with violence and harassment back home in Guatemala and on her journey through Mexico. She came to the U.S. to seek asylum. But now, she said she’s right back where she started — face to face with death.

"That's how I see it," she said. "Because you know the pandemic razes everything and you can either be a survivor or die from COVID-19."

Chilel said that’s because she now has to contend with COVID-19 while in immigration detention at the Eloy Federal Contract Facility.

The facility is in the middle of an outbreak. Cases have jumped sixfold since Friday. According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data, 122 people detained there have the virus as of Monday — the second-highest case count of immigration detention facilities nationwide.

Find the full story here.


Rocky Point reopens with restrictions to tourists

Fronteras Desk

After more than three months on strict lockdown, Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point or Arizona's Beach, is welcoming tourists back to its shores as phase three of the city's reactivation plan. But the city expects visitors to respect restrictions, including wearing a mask, social distancing and a 10 p.m. curfew.

For now, all visitors must have their temperature taken, pass through a sanitation tunnel and show proof of a reservation at an approved hotel, resort or rental.

Learn more here.


Local tribal casinos describe reopening during a pandemic

AZPM

Van Amburg is the CEO of Casino del Sol and Casino of the Sun. She describes the entrance of Casino del Sol as a checkpoint for mandatory masks and temperature checks before a checkerboard network of disabled slot machines, quiet restaurants and plexiglass barriers at tabletop games to enhance social distancing.

"You can't sit right next to each other if the machine right next to yours is turned off, right?" said Van Amburg.

She said slot machines that once belonged on the gaming floor now dot rooms that once housed conferences or weddings.

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe owns both Casino del Sol and Casino of the Sun. Both of the casinos and those belonging to the Tohono O'odham Nation reopened last week in the midst of a surge in COVID-19 cases in Arizona, making the state one of the nation's new hot zones.

Learn more here.


Judge: U.S. must release $679M in tribal virus relief funds

AP

FLAGSTAFF — A federal judge says the U.S. Treasury Department must release $679 million in coronavirus relief to tribes that it intended to withhold over a court challenge.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled late Monday that the department doesn't have discretion to hold back the money. The funding is part of a federal relief package that included $8 billion for tribes and was supposed to go out by late April. Mehta ordered the Treasury Department to disburse it among tribal governments by Wednesday. He says continued delay in the face of an exceptional public health crisis no longer is acceptable.


Sonoran capital mandates many businesses to close at 6 p.m.

Fronteras Desk

The capital of Sonora, Arizona’s neighbor to the south, is mandating that many businesses close no later than 6 p.m.

That decision came over the weekend as cases of COVID-19 approached 5,000 in the state, which is considered red, or maximum risk, according to a federal scale. Drivers who will be on the city’s streets after 6 will need to be granted special permission.

“Facing the pandemic, we have two choices,” Hermosillo Mayor Célida López said in a video released by her office. “Do nothing as the last link in the chain, or assume our duty.”

Learn more here.

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