Arizona COVID-19 cases: 7 days
Cases 860,169 | Deaths 17,276
On Tuesday, April 27, Arizona reported 862 new cases of COVID-19 and eight additional cases. Appointments are not long required at Arizona’s state-run vaccination sites, the Associated Press reports.
UA taking COVID-19 vaccines on the road
AZPM
The state vaccine pod at the University of Arizona has administered close to 200,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine since mid-January.
As demand has slowed at the UA site, and across the state, the university is using its mobile health units to get vaccines into underserved areas.
The university’s mobile clinic will be in Nogales, Arizona on Wednesday to vaccinate truck drivers who travel back and forth across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Vaccine disparity among ethnic groups is a continuing concern for state health officials.
Yuma group to receive outside funding for migrant aid, but little help from Arizona
AZPM
All eyes are on Yuma County after Governor Doug Ducey announced the Arizona National Guard would be deployed in response to a rising number of asylum seekers arriving at the border.
But aid groups like the Arizona California Humanitarian Coalition say they're not being addressed.
The coalition formed in Yuma County in February, when U.S. Border Patrol agents began releasing migrants directly into rural areas like Somerton, a small farming community just south of Yuma.
Fernando Quiroz with the organization said asylum seekers now have access to COVID-19 testing, basic resources and transportation to larger cities like Tucson, where they can wait at a shelter and make travel plans to connect with family.
Arizona vaccine sites no longer requiring appointments
AP
PHOENIX — State health officials say Arizona has sufficient COVID-19 vaccine to meet demand and appointments are no longer required at the state-run vaccination sites in metro Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff and Yuma.
The Department of Health Services made the announcement Tuesday, a day after it announced that 60,000 appointments remained available for this week at the seven sites statewide.
The department said making an appointment is still recommended because it has the advantage of reducing on-site registration time because all the required information will already be in the system.
Arizona on Tuesday reported 682 additional confirmed COVID-19 cases and eight more deaths.
Navajo Nation reports 5 new COVID-19 cases, but no deaths
AP
WINDOW ROCK — The Navajo Nation reports five new confirmed COVID-19 cases, but no additional deaths.
Tribal health officials say the numbers released Monday night bring the total number of cases to 30,467 on the vast reservation that covers parts of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. The number of known deaths remains at 1,273.
The Navajo Department of Health on Monday loosened some virus-driven restrictions and transition to “yellow status.”
Restaurants will be allowed to have in-door dining at 25% capacity and outdoor dining at 50% capacity. Parks will be permitted to open at 25% capacity but only for residents and employees. Navajo casinos will be able to open at 50% capacity, but only for residents and staff as well.
Judge has doubts on voter privacy in Arizona recount
AP
PHOENIX — A judge hearing a challenge to voter privacy policies during the Republican-controlled Arizona Senate’s recount of 2.1 million 2020 election ballots says he is not convinced voter secrecy is being upheld.
The comment from Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Daniel Martin came at the end of a lengthy hearing Tuesday. Martin also declined to extend a previous judge’s order that auditors hired by the Senate comply with state voter privacy laws — at least until he hears more at a hearing on Wednesday.
The Arizona Democratic Party is suing the state Senate and the contractor overseeing the election audit to force it to ensure voter privacy rights.
Fear, lack of funding hurt census in Sunbelt, advocates say
AP
Early projections for the 2020 census didn’t line up with the actual population count for the booming Sun Belt.
Now demographers, community groups and politicians are struggling to find out what was behind the lower-than-expected figures released on Monday. They point to poor investment in outreach in Republican-led states and the possibility of lukewarm participation by Latinos wary of giving their information to the Trump administration.
Demographers caution it’s too early to conclude that the nation’s once-a-decade count missed any significant numbers. That won't be known until data at smaller geographical levels are released and the Census Bureau has finished an accuracy survey.
US agency seeks to speed up Native American land decisions
AP
BILLINGS, Mont. — U.S. Interior Department officials have moved to reverse policies adopted under former President Donald Trump that Native American leaders said were hindering efforts by tribes to establish, consolidate and govern their homelands.
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland issued an order Tuesday that allows regional officials within the Bureau of Indian Affairs to approve the transfer of off-reservation land into trust for tribes. Under Trump, those decisions were made in Washington and critics said that effectively froze some land transfers.
Putting land into trust gives the federal government legal title, while tribes or individual members can use the land for their own interests and not have to pay state and local taxes.
Second Doses For Elderly, Rural Sonorans Arrive
Fronteras Desk
Second doses for older residents in rural communities in Sonora, Arizona’s neighbor to the south, have arrived.
Nearly 40,000 doses landed this week, split almost evenly between AstraZeneca and Pfizer. That’s according to a Monday tweet from Sonoran Health Secretary Enrique Clausen.
Once those doses are given, older residents of Hermosillo and Cajeme would be among the only eligible recipients still waiting for second doses, according to federal delegate Jorge Taddei.
As of late last week, roughly 420,000 doses had been administered in the state, compared to 4.9 million in neighboring Arizona, according to estimates from Taddei and current Arizona state data.
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