The director of the Arizona Department of Health Services sent a letter to hospitals across the state last week requesting full activation of emergency plans for the coronavirus pandemic as new cases in the state surge.
News outlets in Phoenix report that hospitals are preparing surge beds, cross-training staff and possibly suspending elective surgeries again to ensure bed capacity for COVID-19 patients. Cases across the state have been on the rise in recent weeks as the state reopens and more widespread testing is conducted. Governor Doug Ducey has said hospitals in Arizona have the capacity to hand "all coronavirus patients."
Meanwhile, officials on the Navajo Nation say they're beginning to see a flattening of the curve of new coronavirus infections on the Reservation. The tribe still reported 90 new known infections Monday, but no deaths attributed to the virus.
The Navajo Nation has been one of the hardest hig areas in the country. Tribal leaders believe they reached peak hospitalizations for COVID-19 patient in April, a month earlier than initial projections. Nearly 3,000 people have reportedly recovered from the virus on the Navajo Nation.
