Tucson Mayor Regina Romero is set to ask the City Council to consider establishing a mandatory nightly curfew in the city starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, officials said Monday.

Pima County is already under a voluntary curfew.

The council will hold a special meeting Tuesday afternoon to discuss additional steps to slow the spread of COVID-19. If implemented, the curfew would be in place each night from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Dec. 22 and would prohibit Tucson residents from being on public streets or spaces unless traveling to work or other essential activities. Public safety personnel, health-care professionals, essential workers and the homeless would also be exempt from the curfew.

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“We are at an inflection point, and our actions today will determine what happens in the next three weeks,” Romero said Monday. “My colleagues on the council and I are asking each and every Tucsonan to do their part to slow the spread, especially for our family and friends working in our hospitals. We need statewide action, and I strongly urge Gov. Ducey to act swiftly to protect the health of Arizonans.”

The potential mandatory curfew comes as COVID-19 transmission reaches new heights throughout the county. In November, the Pima County Health Department recorded nearly four times the number of cases that were reported in October, surpassing the county’s previous peak over the summer.

In addition, COVID-19 modeling teams at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona are projecting that Arizona hospitals could exceed ICU and general ward capacities as early as this week if interventions are not taken. Hospital bed availability reached as low as 10% last week.

“The epidemiology of this outbreak is well known and described, and if we do nothing, there are enough susceptible Arizonans left to sustain this outbreak for many, many weeks past Christmas and achieving levels of transmission that pale in comparison to what we’re seeing today,” said Dr. Joe Gerald, an associate professor with the UA’s Zuckerman College of Public Health.

As of Monday, Pima County had 39,859 coronavirus cases, with 691 deaths; Arizona has had 326,817 cases with 6,639 deaths. Pima County’s testing is showing an 8% positivity rate, according to the latest numbers from the state.

In addition to the curfew, the council will also vote Tuesday on whether to pass additional economic relief for workers, families and small businesses as the pandemic continues. The city has approximately $14 million in CARES Act funding left to spend before the end of the year.

“We must make sure that no Arizonans go hungry, lose their homes or lose access to medical care in their greater sacrifice for the public good,” said Dr. Gerald. “Combining both public health measures with economic assistance is absolutely critical in responding to this pandemic, and allowing our fellow residents to make good decisions without undue harm to themselves.”

Even as the city works to pass the curfew to curb the spread of COVID-19, there are still concerns that people from outside the community would not adhere to the ordinance. Romero and other local officials have urged Ducey in recent weeks to implement a statewide mask mandate and shelter-in-place order.

“I would much rather this be a statewide mandate,” Romero said. “The city of Tucson does not live in a bubble. Any mandate that we have, we are expecting Tucsonans to help us with and, of course, we’re expecting residents that live in towns surrounding Tucson to follow the laws of the city.”

According to City Attorney Mike Rankin, the Tucson Police Department will focus on education first when it comes to curfew enforcement. Residents who break curfew will be given an opportunity to comply before receiving a citation. If citations are issued, the resident will have the opportunity to complete diversion or some other non-criminal proceeding. During the state’s first shelter-in-place order in April, TPD issued 12 citations.

When asked about the city’s authority to mandate a curfew, Rankin said the Tucson municipal government is given that authority under state and local codes. Pima County implemented a voluntary nightly curfew for residents last week but does not have the authority to mandate a curfew as a state entity.

“State law gives the governor certain emergency powers, but it does not give him the authority to wipe away the legal authority of other officials who are also given emergency powers, including under the state statutes themselves under Arizona law.

“So this is not a challenge to state authority, but it is using the local authority that is provided under Arizona law to adopt these kind of measures that are necessary for public health and safety.”

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Contact reporter Jasmine Demers at jdemers@tucson.com

On Twitter: @JasmineADemers