Even with most of the sports world being shut down by the coronavirus, racing continued at Tucson Dragway.
OK, it was Hot Wheels cars. Raced inside. Filmed and posted to social media once a week.
Still …
“Our first race got 1.4 million page views,” track manager Matt DeYoung said. “The races after that have been averaging three-quarters of a million page views.”
Races take place on a Hot Wheels track inside the dragway’s Nitro Club. The “Scaled Down Tucson Dragway” includes a tiny building painted with the track’s logo.
DeYoung, a former freelance photographer now running the track, uses iMovie software to turn each 6- or 7-second race into a slick production. Three iPhones film each race from different angles, often in slow motion. Alan Reinhart, “The Voice of NHRA” and a longtime Tucson resident, calls the races.
“And he sells it,” DeYoung said.
Started nearly two months ago during the start of the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, the Hot Wheels races are just one way DeYoung is trying to keep the Tucson Dragway in the public eye. The track has held citywide, socially-distant scavenger hunts and produced word searches involving sponsors while waiting out the pandemic. Last Friday and Saturday, the dragway transformed into a drive-in theater and sold out both nights. “Cars,” naturally, was the movie of choice.
But it’s the Hot Wheels races that appear to have captured the imagination of racing fans nationwide. DeYoung initially used cars from his own collection before asking viewers to send in their own. He promised to race every car he received, NCAA Tournament-style, with the winner taking home a Hot Wheels drag strip kit.
“And 110 entries later, with cars from Canada, New York and all over the U.S., we raced them off,” he said.
The resulting 45-minute video, posted Monday, concluded with the crowning of a champion. The car came from Marana.
DeYoung plans to continue posting the Hot Wheels videos, maybe one a month or so, even after real-life racing returns to Tucson Dragway. DeYoung said he expects to hold fan-free races at the county-owned track sometime in the next month, and hopes spectators can return sometime in July. He’s working closely with Pima County, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state to make sure it’s safe.
Some of the millions who have viewed the Hot Wheels videos will certainly want to see the real thing up close.
“Those numbers are something we never thought we’d get,” DeYoung said, “for — and excuse my language — playing with toys.”
Photos: Military flyover honors Tucson-area first responders, hospital workers
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Personnel from Tucson Medical Center line the heliport to watch A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and F-16 Fighting Falcon's from the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing make a pass over the facility, one leg of an area wide community flyover, May 14, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
People in the parking lot at Tucson Medical Center manage to grab some video as A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and F-16 Fighting Falcon's from the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing make a pass over the facility, one leg of an area wide community flyover, May 14, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Hospital staff outside Northwest Medical Center photograph two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, as they fly over Northwest Medical Center north of Tucson on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Northwest Medical Center north of Tucson on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, are seen above east Tucson as they fly over hospitals in Pima County, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff capture two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, on their phones as they fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff capture two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, on their phones as they fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff wait for two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, to fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Nancy Celix-Campos, right, a respitory therapist at Tucson Medical Center, watches the military flyover with her daughters, Giana, 12, and Jazmyn, 8, from Sentinel Peak on May 14, 2020. Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on. "It's been an exhausting two to three months," says Campos, "it's pretty cool, I like how they're going by each hospital."
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Spectators gather at the top of Sentinel Peak to watch the military flyover on May 14, 2020. Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff 2020
Updated
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals on May 14, 2020, to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on.
With coronavirus cases at lowest totals since May, officials 'anxious' about student-caused jump
UpdatedA dip in cases per capita of the coronavirus in Pima County, as well as drops in the positive test rate and hospital visits from the virus, pushed the county into the state’s “moderate” status for business reopening.
But Pima County’s chief medical officer said that while the numbers are trending in the right direction, the reopening of gyms, fitness centers and movie theaters, alongside the looming potential of another spike, makes him a “bit uncomfortable.”
“It is not in the businesses’ best interests or the county’s best interest to be whipsawing between closure and opening and closure and opening,” Dr. Francisco Garcia said. “It accomplishes nothing. It frustrates operators. It sends the wrong signal. It doesn’t accomplish the policy objective which is we need to keep these things going in the right trend.”
Pima County saw a slight uptick in cases during the week ending Aug. 15, but has seen a sharp drop-off since, with 470 cases reported from Aug. 16-22, the county’s lowest total since late May. That coincided with continued state-wide decreases in deaths, new cases and hospitalizations. It’s possible these numbers change as data gets backfilled.
Those totals, along with a positive test rate of 5%, meant Pima County this week achieved the Arizona Department of Health Services’ criteria for reopening certain businesses with restrictions, including limited capacity.
Garcia said his concern stems from the fact that the county saw its biggest spike after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey lifted stay-at-home protocols in May. That prompted Pima County to reach highs in cases, hospitalizations and deaths around July 4. The numbers started dipping after the county instituted a mask requirement.
The business reopenings are coming roughly at the same time as the return of the University of Arizona students. The expectation, based on what’s happening on college campuses around the country, is that the county will see a spike in cases likely three weeks after the students returned in mid-August.
“The part that I worry about is that this is the population that is the most socially engaged and gregarious, and the population that feels invulnerable,” Garcia said. “Put that in the middle of what we’re living today and it’s a bad combo.”
Photos: Military flyover honors Tucson-area first responders, hospital workers
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Personnel from Tucson Medical Center line the heliport to watch A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and F-16 Fighting Falcon's from the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing make a pass over the facility, one leg of an area wide community flyover, May 14, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
People in the parking lot at Tucson Medical Center manage to grab some video as A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and F-16 Fighting Falcon's from the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing make a pass over the facility, one leg of an area wide community flyover, May 14, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Hospital staff outside Northwest Medical Center photograph two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, as they fly over Northwest Medical Center north of Tucson on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Northwest Medical Center north of Tucson on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, are seen above east Tucson as they fly over hospitals in Pima County, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff capture two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, on their phones as they fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff capture two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, on their phones as they fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff wait for two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, to fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Nancy Celix-Campos, right, a respitory therapist at Tucson Medical Center, watches the military flyover with her daughters, Giana, 12, and Jazmyn, 8, from Sentinel Peak on May 14, 2020. Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on. "It's been an exhausting two to three months," says Campos, "it's pretty cool, I like how they're going by each hospital."
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Spectators gather at the top of Sentinel Peak to watch the military flyover on May 14, 2020. Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff 2020
Updated
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals on May 14, 2020, to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on.
With coronavirus cases at lowest totals since May, officials 'anxious' about student-caused jump
UpdatedA dip in cases per capita of the coronavirus in Pima County, as well as drops in the positive test rate and hospital visits from the virus, pushed the county into the state’s “moderate” status for business reopening.
But Pima County’s chief medical officer said that while the numbers are trending in the right direction, the reopening of gyms, fitness centers and movie theaters, alongside the looming potential of another spike, makes him a “bit uncomfortable.”
“It is not in the businesses’ best interests or the county’s best interest to be whipsawing between closure and opening and closure and opening,” Dr. Francisco Garcia said. “It accomplishes nothing. It frustrates operators. It sends the wrong signal. It doesn’t accomplish the policy objective which is we need to keep these things going in the right trend.”
Pima County saw a slight uptick in cases during the week ending Aug. 15, but has seen a sharp drop-off since, with 470 cases reported from Aug. 16-22, the county’s lowest total since late May. That coincided with continued state-wide decreases in deaths, new cases and hospitalizations. It’s possible these numbers change as data gets backfilled.
Those totals, along with a positive test rate of 5%, meant Pima County this week achieved the Arizona Department of Health Services’ criteria for reopening certain businesses with restrictions, including limited capacity.
Garcia said his concern stems from the fact that the county saw its biggest spike after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey lifted stay-at-home protocols in May. That prompted Pima County to reach highs in cases, hospitalizations and deaths around July 4. The numbers started dipping after the county instituted a mask requirement.
The business reopenings are coming roughly at the same time as the return of the University of Arizona students. The expectation, based on what’s happening on college campuses around the country, is that the county will see a spike in cases likely three weeks after the students returned in mid-August.
“The part that I worry about is that this is the population that is the most socially engaged and gregarious, and the population that feels invulnerable,” Garcia said. “Put that in the middle of what we’re living today and it’s a bad combo.”
Photos: Military flyover honors Tucson-area first responders, hospital workers
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Personnel from Tucson Medical Center line the heliport to watch A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and F-16 Fighting Falcon's from the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing make a pass over the facility, one leg of an area wide community flyover, May 14, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
People in the parking lot at Tucson Medical Center manage to grab some video as A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and F-16 Fighting Falcon's from the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing make a pass over the facility, one leg of an area wide community flyover, May 14, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Hospital staff outside Northwest Medical Center photograph two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, as they fly over Northwest Medical Center north of Tucson on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Northwest Medical Center north of Tucson on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, are seen above east Tucson as they fly over hospitals in Pima County, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff capture two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, on their phones as they fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff capture two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, on their phones as they fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff wait for two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, to fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Nancy Celix-Campos, right, a respitory therapist at Tucson Medical Center, watches the military flyover with her daughters, Giana, 12, and Jazmyn, 8, from Sentinel Peak on May 14, 2020. Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on. "It's been an exhausting two to three months," says Campos, "it's pretty cool, I like how they're going by each hospital."
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Spectators gather at the top of Sentinel Peak to watch the military flyover on May 14, 2020. Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff 2020
Updated
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals on May 14, 2020, to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on.
With coronavirus cases at lowest totals since May, officials 'anxious' about student-caused jump
UpdatedA dip in cases per capita of the coronavirus in Pima County, as well as drops in the positive test rate and hospital visits from the virus, pushed the county into the state’s “moderate” status for business reopening.
But Pima County’s chief medical officer said that while the numbers are trending in the right direction, the reopening of gyms, fitness centers and movie theaters, alongside the looming potential of another spike, makes him a “bit uncomfortable.”
“It is not in the businesses’ best interests or the county’s best interest to be whipsawing between closure and opening and closure and opening,” Dr. Francisco Garcia said. “It accomplishes nothing. It frustrates operators. It sends the wrong signal. It doesn’t accomplish the policy objective which is we need to keep these things going in the right trend.”
Pima County saw a slight uptick in cases during the week ending Aug. 15, but has seen a sharp drop-off since, with 470 cases reported from Aug. 16-22, the county’s lowest total since late May. That coincided with continued state-wide decreases in deaths, new cases and hospitalizations. It’s possible these numbers change as data gets backfilled.
Those totals, along with a positive test rate of 5%, meant Pima County this week achieved the Arizona Department of Health Services’ criteria for reopening certain businesses with restrictions, including limited capacity.
Garcia said his concern stems from the fact that the county saw its biggest spike after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey lifted stay-at-home protocols in May. That prompted Pima County to reach highs in cases, hospitalizations and deaths around July 4. The numbers started dipping after the county instituted a mask requirement.
The business reopenings are coming roughly at the same time as the return of the University of Arizona students. The expectation, based on what’s happening on college campuses around the country, is that the county will see a spike in cases likely three weeks after the students returned in mid-August.
“The part that I worry about is that this is the population that is the most socially engaged and gregarious, and the population that feels invulnerable,” Garcia said. “Put that in the middle of what we’re living today and it’s a bad combo.”
Photos: Military flyover honors Tucson-area first responders, hospital workers
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Personnel from Tucson Medical Center line the heliport to watch A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and F-16 Fighting Falcon's from the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing make a pass over the facility, one leg of an area wide community flyover, May 14, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
People in the parking lot at Tucson Medical Center manage to grab some video as A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and F-16 Fighting Falcon's from the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing make a pass over the facility, one leg of an area wide community flyover, May 14, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Hospital staff outside Northwest Medical Center photograph two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, as they fly over Northwest Medical Center north of Tucson on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Northwest Medical Center north of Tucson on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, are seen above east Tucson as they fly over hospitals in Pima County, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff capture two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, on their phones as they fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff capture two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, on their phones as they fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff wait for two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, to fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Nancy Celix-Campos, right, a respitory therapist at Tucson Medical Center, watches the military flyover with her daughters, Giana, 12, and Jazmyn, 8, from Sentinel Peak on May 14, 2020. Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on. "It's been an exhausting two to three months," says Campos, "it's pretty cool, I like how they're going by each hospital."
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Spectators gather at the top of Sentinel Peak to watch the military flyover on May 14, 2020. Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff 2020
Updated
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals on May 14, 2020, to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on.
With coronavirus cases at lowest totals since May, officials 'anxious' about student-caused jump
UpdatedA dip in cases per capita of the coronavirus in Pima County, as well as drops in the positive test rate and hospital visits from the virus, pushed the county into the state’s “moderate” status for business reopening.
But Pima County’s chief medical officer said that while the numbers are trending in the right direction, the reopening of gyms, fitness centers and movie theaters, alongside the looming potential of another spike, makes him a “bit uncomfortable.”
“It is not in the businesses’ best interests or the county’s best interest to be whipsawing between closure and opening and closure and opening,” Dr. Francisco Garcia said. “It accomplishes nothing. It frustrates operators. It sends the wrong signal. It doesn’t accomplish the policy objective which is we need to keep these things going in the right trend.”
Pima County saw a slight uptick in cases during the week ending Aug. 15, but has seen a sharp drop-off since, with 470 cases reported from Aug. 16-22, the county’s lowest total since late May. That coincided with continued state-wide decreases in deaths, new cases and hospitalizations. It’s possible these numbers change as data gets backfilled.
Those totals, along with a positive test rate of 5%, meant Pima County this week achieved the Arizona Department of Health Services’ criteria for reopening certain businesses with restrictions, including limited capacity.
Garcia said his concern stems from the fact that the county saw its biggest spike after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey lifted stay-at-home protocols in May. That prompted Pima County to reach highs in cases, hospitalizations and deaths around July 4. The numbers started dipping after the county instituted a mask requirement.
The business reopenings are coming roughly at the same time as the return of the University of Arizona students. The expectation, based on what’s happening on college campuses around the country, is that the county will see a spike in cases likely three weeks after the students returned in mid-August.
“The part that I worry about is that this is the population that is the most socially engaged and gregarious, and the population that feels invulnerable,” Garcia said. “Put that in the middle of what we’re living today and it’s a bad combo.”
Photos: Military flyover honors Tucson-area first responders, hospital workers
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Personnel from Tucson Medical Center line the heliport to watch A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and F-16 Fighting Falcon's from the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing make a pass over the facility, one leg of an area wide community flyover, May 14, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
People in the parking lot at Tucson Medical Center manage to grab some video as A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and F-16 Fighting Falcon's from the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Wing make a pass over the facility, one leg of an area wide community flyover, May 14, 2020, Tucson, Ariz.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Hospital staff outside Northwest Medical Center photograph two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, as they fly over Northwest Medical Center north of Tucson on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Updated
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Northwest Medical Center north of Tucson on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, are seen above east Tucson as they fly over hospitals in Pima County, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff capture two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, on their phones as they fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff capture two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, on their phones as they fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Hospital staff wait for two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, to fly over Banner University Medical Center, on May 14, 2020.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Nancy Celix-Campos, right, a respitory therapist at Tucson Medical Center, watches the military flyover with her daughters, Giana, 12, and Jazmyn, 8, from Sentinel Peak on May 14, 2020. Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on. "It's been an exhausting two to three months," says Campos, "it's pretty cool, I like how they're going by each hospital."
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff
Spectators gather at the top of Sentinel Peak to watch the military flyover on May 14, 2020. Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on.
Flyover to honor first responders, hospital staff 2020
Updated
Two F-16 Fighting Falcons from Arizona Air National GuardÕs 162nd Wing and two A-10 Thunderbolt II's from the 355th Wing, assigned to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, fly over Tucson area hospitals on May 14, 2020, to honor healthcare personnel and first responders as they are some of the frontline workers dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) head on.
With coronavirus cases at lowest totals since May, officials 'anxious' about student-caused jump
UpdatedA dip in cases per capita of the coronavirus in Pima County, as well as drops in the positive test rate and hospital visits from the virus, pushed the county into the state’s “moderate” status for business reopening.
But Pima County’s chief medical officer said that while the numbers are trending in the right direction, the reopening of gyms, fitness centers and movie theaters, alongside the looming potential of another spike, makes him a “bit uncomfortable.”
“It is not in the businesses’ best interests or the county’s best interest to be whipsawing between closure and opening and closure and opening,” Dr. Francisco Garcia said. “It accomplishes nothing. It frustrates operators. It sends the wrong signal. It doesn’t accomplish the policy objective which is we need to keep these things going in the right trend.”
Pima County saw a slight uptick in cases during the week ending Aug. 15, but has seen a sharp drop-off since, with 470 cases reported from Aug. 16-22, the county’s lowest total since late May. That coincided with continued state-wide decreases in deaths, new cases and hospitalizations. It’s possible these numbers change as data gets backfilled.
Those totals, along with a positive test rate of 5%, meant Pima County this week achieved the Arizona Department of Health Services’ criteria for reopening certain businesses with restrictions, including limited capacity.
Garcia said his concern stems from the fact that the county saw its biggest spike after Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey lifted stay-at-home protocols in May. That prompted Pima County to reach highs in cases, hospitalizations and deaths around July 4. The numbers started dipping after the county instituted a mask requirement.
The business reopenings are coming roughly at the same time as the return of the University of Arizona students. The expectation, based on what’s happening on college campuses around the country, is that the county will see a spike in cases likely three weeks after the students returned in mid-August.
“The part that I worry about is that this is the population that is the most socially engaged and gregarious, and the population that feels invulnerable,” Garcia said. “Put that in the middle of what we’re living today and it’s a bad combo.”
