Flu Season During COVID
Physicians are recommending everybody over 6 months of age get a flu shot. It won’t prevent COVID-19, but one infection can make you more vulnerable to another by weakening your immune system. Flu shots are available for free all over town.
Some docs are suggesting we might not have as serious a flu season as they had feared because so many people are already doing things such as wearing a face covering, washing their hands a lot, and keeping a safe distance from others. We can hope, but COVID is exploding all over the Country, and all over the State right now, so being vigilant is key.
By now, you’ve heard plenty of times that the viruses are transmitted through secretions from saliva and respiratory droplets that go airborne when people cough, sneeze or even talk. The smallest particles linger in the air, and when they’re inhaled, they’re infectious. That’s the reason for the social distancing, but even at 6’, you can still get sick.
This graphic is from the Spanish language newspaper El Pais – it's printed out of Madrid, where they’re having another huge outbreak. It shows the relationship between duration of exposure and type of exposure (breathing, talking, shouting/singing.)
 You know the symptoms of the flu – you’ve had it. But how do they compare with COVID-19? I poached this table from a USA Today article. It’s pretty clear that many of the symptoms are common to both viruses. The recommendation is that you get a COVID test if you feel any of them, just to be sure which one you may be coming down with. And in all cases, stay home.
Blue Light Recognition
It has been a while since you heard anything about the volunteers and staff from Catholic Community Services serving the migrant families. The work that began at the Greyhound Bus station moved to the Benedictine, and finally, over to the County Alitas Center continues 24/7. And this blue light is for the people who are still there taking care of the immense needs the asylum seekers bring.
The NYTimes ran a very informative article last week on the plight of families who are living on the Mexico side of the border while they await asylum. They’re there as a part of the Trump ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy. The Mexican government has not designated their ‘camps’ as refugee centers, so the U.N. has not been involved in providing any infrastructure or support. These are images from the Times report that shows the squalid conditions.
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Families have been living in those camps for over a year. We’re living our own ‘dream’ with COVID. The virus has impacted the asylum seekers, both north and south of the border.
We’re grateful to the CCS workers and those of you who continue to step towards the needs of the Central American families who are here fleeing life-threatening conditions. Drop us an email if you’d like to donate some personal hygiene goods for those who were fortunate enough to make it to the Alitas Center. We’ll make arrangements to have you drop it off here at the Ward office and get it transferred out to the migrant families. If you saw it at the Benedictine, you know both the need and the gratitude the families show for your generosity.
Mandatory Testing
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been told mandating COVID testing is both pandering and is unconstitutional in public institutions. President Crow from ASU saw the Guest Piece I wrote for the Star and asked a colleague from the ASU Corporate and Community Engagement department to reach out to me and share what they’re doing up there. We compared notes, and in the process, affirmed that mandatory testing may have some logistical challenges, but it does not violate the Constitution. In fact, on a limited scale, ASU is doing it.
The ‘school up north’ has implemented random mandatory testing, and if you don’t comply within 48 hours of being notified, you’re locked out of your ASU accounts or the ability to access course work. That’s not just for kids living in on-campus dorms. The mandatory testing is for faculty, staff, and students - any of them who may be coming onto campus for any reason. In addition, they have a mandatory daily health check that if you don’t comply with for 3 consecutive days, your campus account is locked. This graphic comes from their COVID portal and shows how they had some trouble getting people to believe they were serious at the start, but now pretty much everybody going onto their campus for, say the library, student union, or classwork understands the requirement.
I believe it’d be a win for both Pima and Maricopa County if both schools required students to present evidence of a negative PCR COVID test prior to being able to come onto campus in January. Even students living in the off-campus towers access to campus. Let’s quit with the ‘it’s unconstitutional’ schtick that the rest of the M&C bought and figure out an implementation plan.
Last week, the State University of New York system issued a new mandatory testing policy. Here’s a portion of the letter they sent out to all member campuses:
I’ll have more about what’s happening around the Country and COVID but wanted to open with that reiteration that the Mayor and Council voting down the mandatory testing Resolution I had recommended was based on something other than good public health policy.
You can read the full SUNY policy here:
Policy Developed, Reviewed and Approved by Public Health Experts
Adios Albert, Vaya con Dios
Last week Assistant City Manager Albert Elias let us know that he’s cashing in his chips on January 4th of next year. Coming after 36 years of serving this community, Albert and his wife Sarah have big plans for retirement. They deserve the opportunity to downshift and refocus on new challenges together.
We at the Ward 6 office are grateful to Albert for his dedication to Tucson and the wider region. Losing out on his contributions will be a huge hole for Mike Ortega and his team to fill. Albert, we wish you and Sarah well and thank you for a job very well done.
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COVID and Pot
There’s an item on the ballot about recreational marijuana, so this item may gain more importance than just the COVID-related part in the days to come. But for now, it’s about how we’re helping some of the Medical Marijuana (MMJ) dispensary sites conduct business and maintain social distancing within their buildings. The issue is they’re limited in size, so having people mingle around inside while they wait for service has become an issue.
Currently, MMJ dispensaries can do curbside pickup, and they can deliver. Patients are allowed to order ahead of their visit and just do the drive-by. And the dispensaries can designate a portion of their outdoor areas as pick-up zones as long as they don’t create traffic flow issues. But indoors is an issue we could be addressing during COVID.
While there is no maximum lobby size inside an MMJ dispensary, they have to operate within an overall size allowed by Code of 4,000 sq/ft. On a temporary basis, we’re considering allowing them to use what is now some unused space inside the facility as long as the changes being made are non-structural. They’re doing the work with an approved permit. We still have to be cognizant of fire and safety Code compliance. But expanding the lobby in this way can give some immediate relief. In addition, some of the existing MMJ sites were formerly businesses that had drive-thru windows. Under our current Code, they’re not permitted to use those windows for dispensing. As a temporary measure, we’re considering saying they can, as long as they’re not creating a car stacking issue. You’ve seen the coffee shops and Raisin’ Canes where cars are backed up into traffic. None of that – but go ahead and temporarily let people drive-thru to pick up their orders. Our Planning folks will need to do a site review before any of that’s allowed.
Given that these changes would not be formal Code revisions, but would be intended to allow these accommodations while we’re under the constraints of COVID, the process available for adoption is through a Mayoral Emergency Proclamation. I’ve let our legal people and the Mayor know that I’d be supportive if they moved ahead with these two temporary changes.
COVID Trends in Arizona
El Paso is just 4 hours from Tucson, so I have included their recent experience in this section. Residents from El Paso and Arizona cross paths daily, so what happens there affects what happens here.
This is a shot of the University Medical Center in El Paso. Their COVID numbers have skyrocketed to the point where they’ve not only had to set up tents for the overflow, but they’re also flying patients to hospitals in San Antonio.
It wasn’t long ago that the Texas Governor bragged on how Texas was ’open for business.’ As I’ve written before – the virus sets those rules. Now they’ve got tents open for patients as their infection and fatality rates escalate.
I’ve written before about concerns I have with some of the data and recommendations coming out of the Arizona State Department of Health. Last week they issued a new set of guidelines for reopening public schools in line with concerns I’ve raised. By way of reminder, this is the set of 3 metrics the State Department of Health issued for public schools to consider when reopening. This chart is from their website last weekend and recommends Pima County schools enter a hybrid teaching model. The three metrics are cases per 100,000, % positivity, and hospital visits for COVID-like illnesses. Even with their 2-week lag, you can see the graph lines trending up.
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 In August, the recommendation was to avoid going to a hybrid or in-person teaching model if any one of the three benchmarks was in the Red category. This is a graphic from their health guidelines issued in August, giving that recommendation.
 These are their 3 risk breakdowns.
 Last week, they eased up on that recommendation. This is the new language.
 AZDHS says easing up on the restrictions brings schools in line with how businesses are being reopened. So now, the State is saying it’s not until all 3 risk factors are in the Substantial Transmission category that schools should consult with local public health departments about going to virtual teaching. Nobody I’ve spoken to quite knows the rationale behind the change, and I still hadn’t found anyone who was consulted before they made the change. But during his press briefing on Thursday, Ducey said they had consulted with both education officials and the public health departments and that they were asked to make the change. State School Superintendent Kathy Hoffman tweeted this out shortly after that press conference:
ABC15 in Phoenix covered the quiet change in rules. Here’s a link to their story:
In TUSD, they took a poll and found 45% of parents are looking for some form of in-person/hybrid opportunity, while 71% of teachers are saying it’s too soon. The TUSD Board voted 3-2 to adopt the hybrid later this month. It’s a tough balance – losing students to other Districts vs. losing teachers who simply are not ready to re-enter the classroom.
And as for the dust-up in Phoenix between Ducey and Hoffman, this was tweeted out over the weekend:
 That’s not helpful when parents, teachers, and administrators are trying to figure out the local policy for reopening.
What’s Happening at Colleges Around the Country
As the backdrop for this review of what some Colleges are doing with their COVID policies, this map shows how the infection rates in various parts of the Country are trending. In the past week, I’ve read comments by Arizona health officials who are concerned that we’re in the same place as we were in June; on the front end of new peaks in infections.
This guy’s a Boston University student. He’s got a ‘digital badge’ up on his phone, indicating he’s safe to enter their on-campus facilities. Things such as their dining halls, libraries, student union, and classrooms. Requiring testing and display of that new ‘badge’ was announced a week ago last Thursday.
The impetus for the mandatory testing protocol was the suspension of a dozen B.U. students for attending parties this month, where COVID safety was being ignored. They cited ‘declining compliance’ with safety rules and an increase in COVID in the area. I found that interesting since, during the most recent UA briefing, a KVOA reporter said he had surveyed 100 students on campus, and they self-reported that only 4 of them had taken part in the “Wellness Check” that day. It’s voluntary. And the President said he estimated “about 2-1" students were not masking up on campus.
One of the schools I listed as having mandatory testing in Illinois. They recently had 17 of their Intercollegiate Athletic soccer players test positive for COVID. They traced the outbreak back to several social gatherings where nobody was wearing masks. The Administration’s comment was the behavior ‘quickly negated the benefits of pretraining testing, on-campus mask use, and social distancing prevention measures’ mandated by the school.
And staying in the Big 10 – this from the Wisconsin football program.
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I’ve written about Wisconsin in previous newsletters. I pulled this quote from a story one of their TV news reports posted last week: Wisconsin Department of Health Services reported 4,870 positive tests in its latest 13,174 results, or almost 37% positive (36.97%). The state added almost 15,000 coronavirus cases in 4 days.
Relying on hoping for behavioral compliance among college-age people seems not to be working in many places around the Country
And a U Dayton student died recently of COVID-19 complications. It does impact youth. He was 18 years old. Michael Lang had been hospitalized in LaGrange, Illinois, for COVID. He died on October 22nd. He had left campus a month earlier to do remote study. This is the language that appeared in his obituary:
Michael John Lang, 18, of LaGrange. Beloved son of Paul and Kathleen. Loving brother of Matthew. Devoted grandson of Jane (late Ken) Lettich, (late Paul Lang), and the late Elaine (late Robert) Zengeler.
They had to do the Mass for the young guy by Livestream.
Dr. Cullen from Pima County health said COVID at the UA could have a tidal wave effect on the surrounding community. Dr. Garcia from Pima County Health said over the weekend that right now, we’re seeing increases in numbers throughout the County. In Pima County, if you see a business that’s not complying with COVID rules, you can report it here, and their Consumer Health Food Safety team will look into it. For out of control parties, call 911, the UA COVID party hotline at 282.3649, or email to redtag@tucsonaz.gov.
Lend A Hand
I had the Lend A Hand/Ward 3 Shred-It fundraiser in a recent newsletter – this is another opportunity for you to support their important work.
Full disclosure, this group is very personal to me. When my mom died last year, I made contact with one of the leaders of Lend A Hand and ended up donating lots of mom’s stuff to them for the fundraiser we organized over at the Benedictine. They’re a group of about a dozen midtown neighborhoods who have joined together and provide services to seniors whose hope is to age-in-place and stay in their homes. It’s such an immensely important issue for so many of our parents and friends right now. It’s why I want to continue showing my support of this group.
My mom lived a block from the lady I worked with on the Benedictine event. Now they’re hosting a desert plant sale, November 7th and 8th, from 8 am until noon. It’ll be over in that same SAMOS neighborhood, at 1544 E. Copper. You can bet there’ll be masking and social distancing throughout the event. And all of the proceeds go to keeping the Lend A Handwork going.
I know you know somebody who fits the demographic this group is trying to support. Lend a Hand is all local volunteers taking care of many of our friends and loved ones.
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Treatment Engagement Linking At-Risk Women – Project TELA
Another important outreach program that’s kicking off is Project TELA. It’s being run under the Cope Community Services umbrella. Your contact person over there is Shelby. You can find her at 347.5030.
Project TELA is individualized wellness planning aimed at at-risk women in our community. It includes things such as substance abuse treatment and support, the coordination of medical care, HIV/Hep C testing, and linking these women to the variety of community services they need in order to get back on their feet.
The program is being run out of the 924 N. Alvernon offices of Cope. If you know of women who can benefit from this individualized full-treatment model, please reach out to Shelby and see how you can get that person involved. These needs are so tough to address. Without your advocacy, the person you are concerned about might not have the ability to seek help on her own.
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Be Kind: Tucson Clean & Beautiful
You haven’t been to the Ward 6 office in months. COVID has really shut things down all over. The last time you were here, we had a large Palo Verde growing out in front. Well, beetles and cockroaches ate out the inside of some of its major limbs. Some of them fell – the rest of the tree had to be removed.
Last week our friends at Tucson Clean & Beautiful brought by some new landscaping for our entryway. They, along with the City Parks staff who had prepped the site get this week's Be Kind mention.
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That’s my staff and me working with Katie Gannon on planting our new Ironwood tree. The other plants you see in the new basin were put into place by the TC&B staff you also see in the photo and my own group. Yes, I was out running and showed up just in time to pick up a shovel and make it look like I had done all the work.
We love the work TC&B is doing for the City, and we’re grateful for both their and Parks help in renewing our entryway. Looking at an empty gravel patch was getting a little old.
And building on the “Katie and the TC&B team out and about” theme – this is work from last week over at West University at Catalina Park.
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Beautification of the park perimeter is going to be a great enhancement to the surrounding neighborhood and the residents’ enjoyment of the park. Thanks to the neighbors and the TC&B crew for all of their work on this project. And thanks to neighbor Judi for sharing the photo recap of the work.
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Compass Affordable Housing Holiday Auction
Above I mentioned that Lend A Hand has, in the past, sold some of my mom’s stuff to support their work. Now Compass Affordable Housing has some of her artwork and is including it in their virtual holiday auction. It’s coming this November 27th through December 11th - online, from the safety of your home.
Compass is active in providing support for local families who are working through poverty and homelessness. Even before COVID, the work was daunting. Now it’s even more difficult. And all non-profits are having to find creative ways to stay ‘in business’ since so much of what we’re doing now is through a computer and not in person.
This event will have the artwork I mentioned, but also things such as weekend getaways, high-end wine packages, musical instruments, Sedona trips, and smaller items such as Starbucks, pottery, and jewelry.
You can find out all about this event by going to www.compassaffordablehousing.org. The link to the auction is right on their main page. And if you’re not familiar with their work, you can find all of that on the site as well.
Reid Park Zoo
 But any good mom would be able to tell the new 'kids' apart. Both are now living at the Reid Park Zoo.
It’ll take a couple of weeks for them to get used to the place, but soon they’ll be out and ready for their new public. Penelope just turned 2 years old, and Sota celebrated his first birthday in September. If the facial features don’t give you enough clues to tell them apart, just remember Penelope is the taller one at 11’ 4”. Sota’s only 10’ 4”.
Reticulated giraffes are facing extinction due to poaching, civil unrest in their home countries, and loss of habitat. That blows me away. When my bride, daughter, and I visited Kenya on a game safari several years ago, they were all over the place. Scientists say their population has decreased by about 40% in the past 30 years. Both of these guys are here as a part of the Reid Park Zoo international animal conservation work.
Reid Park Zoo is open but is limiting the number of daily visitors. You need to get an advance ticket through their website. Go to www.reidparkzoo.org to register.
Film Incentives
New Mexico has a film incentive on the books that has effectively made Arizona fly-over country for film producers. According to the New Mexico State Film Office (yes, they have one), the direct spending for films between July 1st, 2018, and June 30th, 2019, was $525M. It’s a new record in film-related spending for the State.
So what did they do? In a bill signed into law last July, they’ve now raised the cap on what can be paid to film and TV productions in a single year. In the original bill, it was capped at $50M. Now they’ve more than doubled it to $110M. Arizona has zero.
Word may not have reached Phoenix, but Old Tucson recently shut down. The place was home for hundreds of films and television episodes. And it brought millions of dollars into the local economy, created hundreds of jobs, and was a destination Visit Tucson could market. Now it’s empty.
Film companies shooting in New Mexico can get up to a 25% rebate on goods and service expenses for products they buy in the State. Television shows can get more. That’s catering, set building and dressing materials, crew for the shoots, room, and board, car rentals – the things needed when a production company comes to town and sets up shop. And if they commit to setting up shop for at least 10 years, the incentives increase. Both Netflix and NBC Universal took advantage of that and made Albuquerque their production hub for the long term.
Every 2 years, I cling to the hope that the State Legislature in Arizona will get us back into that game. It’s jobs in multiple sectors. There’s an election tomorrow. It’s a hope worth continuing to cling to.
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Halloween Costume Contest
Last weekend was the big day. My bride tried to enter our contest:
...but I took a risk and reminded her that it’s for ’kids’ and she doesn’t qualify.
We’ll be reviewing entries this week and showing you the winners in next week’s newsletter. Send your kids’ and pets’ pictures into ward6@tucsonaz.gov, and we’ll get to work on our end. Cut off for entries is the end of the day on Thursday.
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Local Tucson
There are few events we host that are more “Tucson” than All Souls Procession. It’s our annual parade honoring loved ones who we’ve lost. It’s this week’s Local Tucson item.
Individuals and groups take part, and everyone involved has the liberty to remember the lost in their own personal and unique way. If any event signifies inclusivity and acceptance of others where they are, this one is it.
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People walk, ride, or are pushed in strollers. But all ages are included. This year – wait for it – All Souls is going virtual.
Next year somebody needs to build a float sending the year 2020 into the rearview mirror – with no grief needed.
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Pima County COVID
Since right after the UA reopened, the 85719 zip code area around campus has been far ahead of all other areas of the City in infection numbers. This is from the Pima County portal from last weekend, showing that the UA area continues to be #1 in the County.
 But the south side is quickly gaining ground – note; this is not a footrace or a competition in which there’s a prize for the winner. These are peoples’ lives, and we need to be concerned that the virus is clearly extending its reach throughout the County.
And look at the fatalities for those two areas. We know that young people don’t generally see the significant health impacts that older people do. Even with the higher rates of infection (even not counting students not being tested), the death numbers are nearly 3x higher in the 85706 zip code than they are around campus.
None of this is a surprise. What is a surprise is the groups who continue to feel all of this is not happening or institutions that push back against implementing every tool they can to stop community spread.
At the full County level, these are the current Case and Death numbers:
 Compared to this week:
That’s nearly 1,400 new cases, and 6 lost loved ones in the past week.
And on a State-wide basis, this was last week:
 And this week, that same data set looks like this. It’s an increase of over 9,000 new cases, and 107 people in Arizona lost their lives last week due to COVID.
 Last week I shared parts of the daily count table that Pima County compiles, showing the trend of increase. I mislabeled the column, though. What I gave you was State totals, not County. Here’s a follow up showing the trend dating from the middle of September to last weekend. In September, we were seeing around 500 new cases per day around the State and around 125 daily increases in Pima County. Here’s where we are now – the 4th column is State numbers, and the last column is for Pima County.
Pima County is lagging the increases in the rest of the State. And yet, we were just under 3,000 new cases in the County last month. Nobody in the health field thinks that means we’re ready to cut a ribbon and crash the finish line at this point, though.
We have simply got to test, trace, and treat where we know the hot spots exist.
And here are the numbers from AZDHS as of last weekend. Every County had an increase.
And for your own research – these links:
For the NY Times data sets, use this link:
The State Department of Health site is at this link: www.azdhs.gov.
And here’s the UA daily update link. www.covid.arizona.edu. When it opens, click ‘See Latest Updates,’ and it’ll take you to a screen with the updated data.
Sincerely,
Steve Kozachik
Council Member, Ward 6
ward6@tucsonaz.gov
City of Tucson Resources
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