Pima County Coronavirus Update: 162 New Cases, 0 Deaths

TUCSON, AZ — Arizona's coronavirus metrics continue to improve as Pima County reports 162 new cases and zero deaths Monday. The news comes as school districts in the state were due to open at least one facility for in-person learning.

The state only reported 468 new cases Monday, along with zero deaths. That brings Arizona's total of cases and deaths to 194,005 and 4506, respectively. About 12 percent of tests are coming back positive statewide.

In Pima County, the percent positive is just over nine percent. The county has still met only one of the three recommended guidelines for schools reopening: two consecutive weeks with hospital visits with COVID-like symptoms below 10 percent.

All school districts were due to open at least one school for an in-person option Monday for students with nowhere else to go. The Tucson Unified School District reopened its doors to a small subset of its most vulnerable students, as reported by the Arizona Daily Star. The plan will be in place until at least Oct. 9 unless the county allows schools to open earlier.

Schools are not required to follow the state's guidelines and reopening is a decision Gov. Doug Ducey supports.

"We're going to leave ultimate and final decisions to superintendents and principals, and I'm confident they'll make good decisions," he said in Thursday's coronavirus briefing.

For businesses like gyms, bars and movie theaters, two of the state's required benchmarks have shifted with Monday's data. Hospital visits with COVID-like symptoms are now considered minimal in Pima County and the percent of tests returning positive has become moderate. However, cases per 100,000 people is still considered substantial, meaning gyms, bars and movie theaters are going to remain closed for the time being.

But the Arizona Republic reports that many businesses have submitted reopening plans to the state, with some already being approved.