Portable Morgues On The Way To Arizona As Coronavirus Surges

PHOENIX — Refrigerated trucks are being rushed to Arizona as the numbers of coronavirus cases and deaths skyrocket, exceeding the capacity of local hospitals and morgues. Since the pandemic began, the state has seen more than 131,000 cases of the coronavirus illness, COVID-19, with more than 2,400 of them fatal.

The portable cooling units are needed in Maricopa County, where the coronavirus outbreak is most widespread. The medical examiner reported that with 156 new bodies, morgues are nearing surge capacity of 200. Similar units were used in New York City during the height of the outbreak there. They also are being ordered in San Antonio, Texas; in the hard-hit Rio Grande Valley, two counties are sharing a refrigerated truck to handle the morgue overflow.

Hospitalizations and ventilator use remain high in Arizona, with ICU beds at about 90 percent capacity.

The latest Arizona Department of Health Services data shows 2,250 new cases in Maricopa County, where the sprawling Phoenix metro area is located, bringing the total since the coronavirus outbreak began to 86,483. Deaths were up 79 in a day, bringing the county total to 1,277.

Maricopa County currently has the third-highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country, behind Los Angeles County in California and Cook County in Illinois, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Statewide, confirmed cases are up 3,257, to 131,353, while deaths increased 97 to 2,434. That makes Arizona the U.S. leader in the number of new confirmed cases per capita — about 3,300 per 1 million — over the past two weeks.

In Pima County, Arizona’s second-largest county, confirmed cases were up 292 to 12,406, and deaths increased by nine to 347.

In hard-hit Maricopa County, spokesman Fields Moseley said four portable coolers have been ordered to handle the overflow in the morgue, and more may be needed in the coming days, CNN reported.

“Because we hit that surge capacity, multiple phone calls were made to funeral homes all over the county to try to assess their ability to make sure they were taking bodies in a timely fashion,” Moseley told CNN.

It’s not clear if all the deaths are related to the coronavirus. Deaths in Arizona typically go up in the summer due to heat.

The Arizona Department of Health Services is bringing in nearly 600 critical care and medical-surgical nurses from other states as hospitals address staffing gaps.

“COVID-19 hospitalizations in Arizona have increased with hospitals reporting nearly 3,500 patients and more than 900 patients in their intensive care units,” the agency said in a statement.

Doctors: Ducey Must Do More

As cases surge in Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey is under increased pressure to order all adults to wear masks in public and issue another stay-at-home order. Dozens of physicians from across the state said in a July 9 letter to Ducey that he should use his broad executive powers to get the virus in check.

Ducey so far has resisted those calls. He did limit dine-in capacity at restaurants, but Drs. Amaal Starling and Christine Severance, writing Thursday in an op-ed in the Arizona Republic, called that “the equivalent of facing missile attacks with a flyswatter.”

"It is less than a half-measure, and more must be done," Starling and Severance wrote.

In their letter to Ducey earlier this month, the doctors also called on Arizona’s congressional delegation to “pass commonsense legislation that will expand people’s access to health care, such as extending telemedicine coverage for Medicare through 2020, and quickly enacting legislation that will directly support families and businesses.”

“We must recognize that people will face financial hardships as a result of a pandemic that has been allowed to accelerate unchecked, devastating lives as well as our broader economy,” they wrote. “Such compassionate legislation should include, but not be limited to, expanded unemployment support, direct payments to businesses and extensive paid leave — all measures that will support the most vulnerable people during a painful yet necessary stay-at-home order.”

Teachers: Not Safe To Return To School

Arizona's teachers are nervous about the reopening of schools as the coronavirus continues to ravage the state. A caravan of about 20 cars, painted with messages like #Return2SchoolSafely, traveled to central Phoenix Wednesday in one of six “motor marches” organized by the #RedForEd group to urge Ducey to close schools until case numbers begin to subside.

Ducey delayed the reopening of schools back until at least Aug. 17, but social studies teacher Chico Robinson told The Associated Press there’s little comfort in that.

“Sure he pushed it back,” Robinson told The AP. “But let's be honest — we're seeing numbers of 4,000, we've seen a 5,000 number. That’s nowhere safe to return our students and definitely not our educators.”

RELATED: Arizona Teacher In Shared Classroom Dies Of Coronavirus As Schools Weigh Reopening

Earlier this summer, three Arizona teachers offering virtual classes were infected with the coronavirus, despite wearing masks, social distancing and disinfecting their shared equipment. The death of one of the Arizona teachers, Kimberly Chavez Lopez Boyd, gained national attention as other states wrestle with the risks of reopening classes to in-person instruction.

“They were all extremely cautious about the safety and yet they still got it,” Robinson told The AP. “We have an educator that's not with us anymore. That would be the narrative if any district went back.”

Most schools in metro Phoenix, as well as the Tucson Unified School District, plan to start the school year with virtual classes, while other districts are considering online instruction only, in-person instruction or a hybrid of the two.

“It's very confusing,” longtime substitute teacher Raquel Mamani told The AP. “We don't understand why school districts and some teachers feel like we have to go back.”