Many employees in Arizona’s second-largest county may be put on furlough for the next three weeks as Pima County tries to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 within county departments.
County officials said that starting Monday, about 20% of the county’s 7,000 employees will be under a stay-at-home order through Jan. 10.
The county, that includes the Tucson metro area, has reported more than 320 coronavirus cases among employees since the pandemic began with more than 60 cases occurring in the last two weeks.
The Arizona Daily Star also reported Sunday that Tucson Medical Center is canceling elective surgeries starting Monday.
The hospital’s Chief Operating Officer Mimi Coomler and Chief Medical Officer Amy Beiter said in a letter to employees that they were halting elective surgeries until Jan. 4 “to address the constrained nursing, clinical and medical staff.”
Arizona health officials on Sunday reported 5,366 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 34 more related deaths due to the current coronavirus surge.
According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, the statewide totals now stand at 453,597 cases and 7,971 known deaths since the pandemic began in March.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher than reported because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected with the virus without feeling sick.
The state’s 4,104 COVID-19-related hospitalizations reported as of Friday was the latest in a string of pandemic-high hospitalizations reported starting earlier this month.
The previous pandemic hospitalization record was 3,517 on July 13 during Arizona’s summer surge.
According to the state’s coronavirus dashboard, only 8% of all hospital beds and ICU beds were available and not in use.
Although many hospitals around Arizona have taken steps authorized by regulators to increase capacity during the pandemic, the state crisis plan’s provision to guide clinical decisions on providing care to patients when the system is overloaded and short of staff and critical equipment hasn’t been activated.
Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
