After Pima County declared racism a public health crisis, whatâs next?
Pima County declared racism a public health crisis, whatâs next? By Sunday Miller | April 23, 2021 at 6:38 PM MST - Updated April 23 at 6:38 PM
TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - Like 49 other counties across the nation and the CDC, Pima County declared racism a public health crisis.
As the only county in Arizona to make this declaration, what are its next steps?
While no one is immune to the impacts of COVID-19, the pandemic continues to hit low-income, and communities of color harder, which is partly why Pima County made the declaration in December 2020.
Betty Villegas appointed to Executive Director of South Tucson Housing Authority Betty Villegas appointed to Executive Director of South Tucson Housing Authority (Source: City of South Tucson) By KOLD News 13 Staff | December 31, 2020 at 1:17 PM MST - Updated December 31 at 1:17 PM
TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - The City of South Tucson is pleased to announce the selection of Betty Villegas, as their newly appointed Executive Director of the South Tucson Housing Authority.
Villegas is a Pima County native with deep family roots in South Tucson. She will assume the Executive Director duties, effective January 4, 2021.
Villegas just completed an interim term as the District 5 Supervisor on the Pima County Board of Supervisors, serving the remaining term of the late County Supervisor Richard Elias, who formerly served the City of South Tucson in this same position. As a County Supervisor, she maintained executive and legislative responsibilities for this local governmental
Many Pima County employees will have to use leave or be put on furlough for the next three weeks as part of an effort to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 within county departments.
Starting Monday, Dec. 21, about 20% of the countyâs 7,000 employees will be under a stay-at-home order through Jan. 10, according to County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry.
Pima County has reported more than 320 cases of COVID-19 among employees since the pandemic began in February. More than 60 of those cases have occurred in the last two weeks.
Pima County healthcare workers get the COVID-19 vaccine at a drive-through clinic at Banner University Medicine in Tucson on Dec. 17, 2020. The other vaccination site is Tucson Medical Center. Video by Rebecca Sasnett / Arizona Daily Star
Map shows COVID-19 cases and case rates over the week preceding the last update.
Credit: Nick O Gara/AZPM. Sources: The New York Times, based on reports from state and local health agencies, Census Bureau. Case reports do not correspond to day of test.
Cases 435,036 | Deaths 7,677
On Thursday, Dec. 17, Arizona reported 5,817 new cases of COVID-19 and 147 additional deaths. Only 8% of intensive care unit beds remain unoccupied, as of Dec. 16, state health department data shows.
Pharmacies will help vaccinate long-term care residents
AZPM
Major pharmacy chains will work with the state and federal government to ensure residents of long-term care facilities quickly receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to implement a mandatory curfew for residents earlier this week after COVID-19 infections in the county spiked past 1,300 cases per 100,000 residents. The threshold for rolling back the curfew is 100 cases per 100,000 people.
The county has had a voluntary curfew in place since late November, but Pima County officials investigated around 400 area businesses and found about 60 of those to be “seriously noncompliant.”
The vote was contentious.
One county supervisor compared the curfew to “gestapo tactics” and voted against it. Another said not adopting the curfew would represent a “dereliction of duty.”
District 5 Supervisor Betty Villegas voted for the curfew, and The Show spoke with her for more about why.