COVID-19 pandemic in Arizona

[6] A generally low new case rate continued in Arizona through October 2020 but in November a second major COVID-19 surge began, reaching new records in early January 2021.

A 20-year-old male student of Arizona State University (ASU), who had traveled to Wuhan, China, the point of origin of the outbreak,[1][2] was diagnosed with COVID-19 and placed in isolation.

[16] On March 11, Jonathan Nez, president of the Navajo Nation (a large portion of which is located in northeastern Arizona) declared a state of emergency as a proactive measure to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

[18] Arizona State University President Michael Crow announced that school would switch beginning March 16 to online instruction "wherever possible" for a period of two weeks over concerns about the virus.

[22][23] Tucson mayor Regina Romero declared a local emergency on March 17,[24] ordering many businesses to close, limiting restaurants to drive-thru and takeout.

All bars, theaters, museums, gyms, bowling alleys and other recreation and entertainment businesses were under a mandatory shutdown as of 8 p.m. and remain closed through the end of March.

Among the exceptions were grocery stores, pharmacies, food pantries, banks, or vendors located at universities, houses of worship, at care homes and Tucson International Airport.

[28] Governor Ducey announced March 19 that he would limit restaurant service and close bars, theaters, and gyms in counties with confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Ducey issued a statewide stay at home order to stop the spread of new coronavirus, barring Arizonans from leaving their residences except for food, medicine, and other essentials.

[47] By June 8 there were 27,678 cases and 1,047 known deaths[48] and the Arizona Department of Health Services director, Dr. Cara Christ, told hospitals to 'fully activate' emergency plans.

[52] On June 13, two news outlets reported that a number of restaurants and businesses have voluntarily closed temporarily due to visits by individuals or employees who have tested positive for the virus.

[64] On July 1, 2020, Canyon State Academy (formerly known as the Arizona Boys Ranch where Nicholaus Contreraz died) announced that 23 students and 8 staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

[67] On July 8, a worker at a Dutch Bros. Coffee location on South 4th Avenue in Yuma, Arizona tested positive for the disease resulting in a temporary closure in order for deep sanitation to take place.

[69][70] On July 9, Governor Doug Ducey issued an executive order directing restaurants to operate at 50% of dine in capacity as the death toll reached 2,000 and the total number of cases surpassed 112,000.

[71] On July 16, Ducey issued an executive order extending the moratorium on residential evictions and other protections until October 31, 2020, and expanding rental assistance.

In Arizona, daily case counts, hospitalizations, percent positivity, ventilators in use and the rate at which the virus spreads have all increased in recent weeks.

"[80] On November 23, Yuma Regional Medical Center would not permit an emergency physician, Cleavon Gilman, to work as they had raised concerns regarding the lack of ICU beds in the state of Arizona at the time.

"[82] On December 7, the Arizona State Legislature was forced to close for at least a week after lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who had tested positive for COVID-19, testified without a facemask for eleven hours about allegations of voter fraud.

Yavapai, Apache and Navajo counties all have two consecutive weeks where all three indicators of viral spread have gone into the "red zone," and the statewide rate of infection is 500 per 100,000.

[96] To increase hospital capacity and handle a potential surge in COVID-19 patients, on March 30, ADHS announced that St. Luke's Medical Center which closed in November, 2019 would be reopened with the help of the US Army Corps of Engineers and the Arizona National Guard.

[98] On April 21, 2020, the ADHS established the Arizona Surge Line, a centralized statewide system for hospitals and medical providers, which enables coordination when COVID-19 case levels become overwhelming.

[113] On July 12, Arizona was ranked last of the fifty states and Washington DC for meeting a COVID-19 testing target developed by the Harvard Global Health Institute.

[115] According to Dr. Cara Christ, the director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, ADHS has developed a system for contacts to monitor and report symptoms over a 14-day period via phone, text or online.

On March 30, Governor Ducey declared a statewide closure for all schools and mandated the option for students to complete coursework in an alternate method.

Measures included masks for staff and older students, staying home in the event of COVID-19 symptoms or diagnosis, provisions for frequent disinfection of surfaces, and socially distanced seating.

[147][148] On August 6, Ducey as well as Christ from ADHS and Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman of the Arizona Department of Education announced the county-level benchmarks that are recommended before in-person learning takes place.

Combs Unified school district in San Tan Valley voted to resume classes in person on August 17, 2020; however, these plans were cancelled after many teachers staged a "sick out".

[158] In June, all three state universities announced that all students, faculty, staff and visitors are required to wear masks on campus inside buildings and outside where maintaining social distancing of six feet is difficult.

[162] Major League Baseball (MLB) cancelled the remainder of spring training on March 12, affecting ten separate Cactus League venues in the Phoenix area (and over 66,000 seasonal and 2,000 volunteer jobs),[163] and on March 16, MLB announced that the regular season would be postponed indefinitely, after the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to restrict events of more than 50 people for the next eight weeks, affecting every team that trains in Arizona: the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, and the Texas Rangers.

[163] In early April, MLB began discussing plans to conduct its 2020 season entirely in the Phoenix area, with teams playing at Chase Field and spring training complexes to empty crowds.