Arizona health expert says state will continue to see exponential virus cases
Dec 8, 2020, 5:00 PM | Updated: Dec 9, 2020, 7:27 am
PHOENIX – A top Arizona health official said Tuesday that Arizona will continue to see an exponential rise in cases until stricter action is taken to mitigate the spread of the virus.
Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association and former director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, said the lack of action to limit gatherings is putting pressure on hospitals; however, the impending arrival of the coronavirus vaccine will eventually provide much needed relief to the health care system.
“We’re going to continue on an exponential track until somebody does something about it, and I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” Humble told KTAR News 92.3 FM The Gaydos and Chad Show.
Arizona has seen a continuous surge in coronavirus cases in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, Arizona health officials reported a record 12,314 new coronavirus cases with 23 additional deaths, bringing the state’s documented totals to 378,157 COVID-19 infections and 6,973 fatalities.
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Other metrics in the state have also seen a rapid increase in recent weeks.
The number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospital inpatients was 3,157 on Monday, which was a 37% increase since Thanksgiving. Additionally, the number of Arizona’s confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients in ICU beds was 744 on Monday, which marked a 40% increase since the holiday.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has avoided implementing a statewide mask mandate and has not further restricted capacity or moved to shut down businesses where people gather in an effort to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.
He has focused his recent policy on helping businesses stay open – such as making it easier for restaurants to expand their outdoor service areas – and funding and staffing hospitals to deal with the rising number of COVID-19 patients.
“There were opportunities that we had going back two and three months ago to do much better enforcement of the existing mitigation measures that are in place, but instead they allowed businesses, bars, restaurants and nightclubs to ignore those mitigation measures, and that set us on a path towards exponential growth,” Humble said.
Humble said the lack of mitigation measures and exponential rise in coronavirus cases has steered the state in the direction of crisis standards of care. If more action is taken, it could help the state emerge more quickly from the hospital crisis in January.
He also noted that pressure will also be taken off the hospital system when the coronavirus vaccine starts to take effect in Arizona and as more people receive the vaccine. The initial doses of the coronavirus vaccine are expected to be distributed this month to health care workers and other high risk groups.
“It will take a long time to get rid of cases in Arizona, probably not till summer. We can start making a dent in the hospital crisis much earlier than that if they stay on track and continue to focus on those high risk populations,” Humble said.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday celebrated the expected approval of the first U.S. vaccine for the coronavirus as the White House worked to instill confidence in the massive distribution effort that will largely be executed by President-elect Joe Biden.
The first vaccine, from drugmaker Pfizer, is expected to receive endorsement by a panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers as soon as this week, with delivery of 100 million doses — enough for 50 million Americans — expected in coming months.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
