The Pima County Health Department has issued a voluntary curfew through the end of the year in response to substantial community spread of COVID-19. The county is asking individuals to observe the voluntary curfew daily between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
This curfew applies to all Pima County residents but makes an exception for homeless people.
Under the curfew, people may still leave their homes to attend work or other essential activities such as getting food, medical care and responding to emergency situations.
This request comes after the health department reported 878 new COVID-19 infections, the highest single day total since the beginning of the pandemic. Last week, the county reported its largest weekly case count, 2,575.
"It is necessary to take this additional step due to the accelerating nature of the pandemic in our community," Pima County Health Director Theresa Cullen said. "While we appreciate the efforts of the majority of residents to slow the spread of the virus, a segment of the population continues to participate in social gatherings and resist the use of masks which exacerbates an already critical situation."
The county had discussed instituting this curfew after seeing how successful the University of Arizona's voluntary two-week quarantine for students was in control the spread on campus, Cullen said in a Monday press conference with university officials.
