Arizona COVID-19 hospitalization numbers at CDC threshold
AZPM
At the end of the week, Arizona hospitals were at 83% of their regular capacity and 80% of their ICU capacity.
In March, Gov. Doug Ducey ordered hospitals to be ready to increase their capacity by 25% in case there was a surge in COVID-19 cases. At the beginning of June, Banner Health Systems announced it was nearing capacity for its ICU beds statewide.
“Over the last period of 10-14 days, we have seen an increase in the number of confirmed cases across the state, but also here locally in the Pima County and Tucson area. That is translating into increased demand for our services at our facilities,” said Gordon Carr, Banner-UMC Tucson chief medical officer.
Numbers have hovered and exceeded the top limit of CDC guidelines around phase one of reopening, though Arizona leadership says it is not changing course. Learn more here.
CBP reveals a few more details about San Pedro River border barrier
AZPM
Tucson's local Border Patrol office was not in the loop on plans for President Trump's border wall, but instead found out about the projects through the media.
That information came to light Friday during a stakeholder meeting about the barrier being built across the San Pedro River, following months of little to no communication from the agency, as AZPM has reported. Learn more about the details here.
Massive wildfires burn around Arizona, force evacuations
AP
PHOENIX— Firefighters across Arizona are working to gain ground against massive wildfires that have led to surrounding communities evacuating.
In the foothills outside of Tucson, the Bighorn Fire spread to higher elevations overnight. The 23-square-mile blaze was only 22% contained Monday. Crews are trying to keep the fire at bay from the areas of East Golder Ranch and Ventana Canyon.
Meanwhile, crews believe the Jacob Lake community is in less danger from a blaze in the Kaibab National Forest. The 39-square-mile fire is 2% contained. About 40 miles east of Phoenix, a wildfire has forced evacuations in Tonto Basin and Punkin Center. That fire has zero containment.
Treasury withholding $679M in virus relief funds for tribes
AP
FLAGSTAFF — The U.S. Treasury Department is withholding $679 million in coronavirus relief funding for tribes as a challenge over the agency's distribution method makes its way through court.
A Kansas tribe has argued it was shortchanged because the Treasury Department relied on federal population data, rather than the tribe's own enrollment figures. The department says the money it's holding back will cover the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation if the tribe wins its case and any other tribes that might raise challenges.
The Treasury Department says it has distributed the rest of the $8 billion set aside for tribes.
Native American communities hit harder by COVID-19 than states, research finds
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – The disproportionate impact COVID-19 has had on minorities underscores the longstanding failure of federal officials to respond to the needs of Native Americans, Rep. Betty McCollum said Thursday in a subcommittee meeting on the Indian Health Service.
“Five tribes are experiencing more instances of coronavirus per 100,000 citizens than any states, including New York,” the Minnesota Democrat said, citing data from the American Indian Studies Center at UCLA and Indian Country Today.
According to a data visualization posted by UCLA researchers, if COVID-19 infection rates were scaled per 100,000 people and if tribes were states, the top five infection rates nationwide at the end of May would be tribes. The Navajo Nation ranked fifth in the highest number of cases per capita, the data said.
Lawsuit seeks trade sanctions against Mexico to protect vaquita porpoise
Fronteras Desk
Conservation groups are suing the U.S. government to force a decision on a 2014 legal petition seeking sanctions against Mexico for failing to stop illegal fishing and trade of an endangered fish called the totoaba and to protect the world’s most endangered marine mammal, the vaquita marina porpoise, that gets caught in totoaba gillnets and drowns.
The lawsuit filed Thursday by the Center For Biological Diversity and the Animal Welfare Institute, demands the United States formally certify that Mexico’s failure to end totoaba poaching violates an international wildlife treaty, and sanction the country by prohibiting all wildlife imports, including seafood.
Official start of monsoon
AZPM
It is monsoon awareness week. This year's monsoon begins June 15 and runs until September 30.
Weather experts define the monsoon as a wind shift that brings increased moisture into Arizona along with a daily chance for thunderstorms. National Weather Service meteorologist Ken Drozd notes people staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic can make sure their house is secure from high winds and heavy rain. "Close your garage door and do not let those winds get in because that could lead to a roof being lifted off. If you have carports make sure they are secured," he said.
Drozd emphasizes downburst or microburst winds can come from any thunderstorm, damaging trees and downing power lines. He suggests making sure your house is supplied to deal with power outages ahead of the monsoon.
Navajo Nation resumes training at its police academy
AP
CHINLE — More than two dozen recruits are expected to begin training Monday at the Navajo Nation's police academy.
The program had been postponed for months because of the coronavirus pandemic. It will last 15 weeks instead of 22, with recruits training six days a week instead of four. The tribe's police department says the 25 recruits will be required to stay at the academy in Chinle the majority of the time.
Police Chief Phillip Francisco says the coronavirus amplified the need for the department to bolster its numbers. He says officers have been stretched thin during the pandemic.
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