Health care providers and first responders across Pima County are pleading with residents and visitors alike to stay home as their health care system "is near the breaking point."
Over two dozen leaders from Pima County’s health department, hospitals and fire departments signed a strongly worded letter Friday encouraging everyone to stay home, wear masks and forego holiday gatherings to slow the spread of COVID-19.
"Our emergency departments and hospitals are full, and they are facing shortages of staff and critical supplies. Hospital workers are exhausted and there is no end in sight, presently," the letter reads. "Without significant changes in community behavior, there will be continued growth in positive COVID cases and hospitalizations through the remainder of December."
The county's numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths have climbed above levels not seen since the summer spike hit Arizona, said Pima County Chief Medical Officer Francisco Garcia. He said the county has had less than 5% of its intensive-care unit beds available seven times in the past two weeks.
"If you are in a horrible car crash with a bunch of other cars, you're going to get transported out of Tucson. I don't know how else to make that plain," Garcia said during a news conference Friday afternoon.
It's easy to believe the situation is not so dire with holiday lights decorating hospitals and people going about their business around Tucson. Julia Strange, vice president of community benefit for Tucson Medical Center, cautioned against that line of thinking.
“If this were a hurricane or an earthquake. We would all see the carnage," Strange said. "In this pandemic, it is neatly tucked away in the hospital, and we don’t see it. Everything looks normal."
