蜜柚直播

But don鈥檛 look for new restrictions on businesses.

The department reported Tuesday that more than 100 of every 100,000 residents of the two counties are testing positive for the virus. That is categorized as substantial.

Two other factors 鈥� the percentage of tests coming back positive and the percentage of hospital patients who show up with COVID-like illness 鈥� remain in the moderate range.

Under department rules adopted earlier this year, having even one of three factors in the substantial range for two weeks in a row 鈥� which is the Pima and Coconino situation now 鈥� precluded the opening of certain businesses in a county, including movie theaters and fitness centers. All three factors had to be at least in the moderate range for even limited operations of certain businesses.

But state health officials said Tuesday they will not apply the same rules about all three being moderate in this case. Nor will they order any businesses to be re-closed.

Instead, the decision was made that the only way a county will move 鈥渂ackward鈥� to a point where it used to be 鈥� when certain business could not operate at all 鈥� is if all three of the benchmarks go back to the substantial range, which has not happened.

That is because the overall situation in 蜜柚直播 is better than it was in June and July, said health department spokesman Steve Elliott.

That鈥檚 when Gov. Doug Ducey initially removed many restrictions on business operations. The result was a sharp increase in infection rates, with new cases topping 5,400 a day statewide.

For the past month, the number of new cases has not topped more than 800 a day.

Gubernatorial press aide Patrick Ptak said Tuesday the change in how the rules and the benchmarks are being interpreted is justified. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in a very different place,鈥� he said.

Ptak said there鈥檚 no reason to shutter businesses just because one indicator now shows the risk of substantial spread as long as the others remain in the moderate range.

Part of what鈥檚 different, he said, is that the spike in infections appears to be localized. 鈥淲e know that the universities are driving this,鈥� Ptak said.

鈥淲hat the data is actually showing is we have a targeted reason for these increases,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e should have a targeted approach.鈥�

Shuttering some businesses on a county-wide basis does not fit that definition, he said.

鈥淐losing water parks because of cases around universities is not the right approach,鈥� he said.

A voluntary 14-day shelter-in-place order at the University of 蜜柚直播 ended Tuesday as school officials sought to drive down infection rates among faculty and staff.

Part of the problem, according to UA President Robert Robbins, is that the virus has been spread not in classrooms but at what he said were large, off-campus gatherings.

In explaining the decision to leave business operations intact in the two counties despite the increase in infection rates, Elliott pointed to what he said are 鈥渟trict mitigation strategies鈥� designed to help prevent another spike like the one that occurred in June and July.

One of those strategies is that there is now a requirement that restaurant patrons must wear masks when they are not 鈥渁ctively eating or drinking.鈥�

Elliott said other things are different now, too. For example, gyms and fitness centers, which were allowed to open their doors, have to operate at just 25% capacity.

There also are occupancy restrictions at other businesses.

And the state has established a 鈥渉otline鈥� where people can report violations of the requirements.

Elliott also cited what he said is broad access to testing, with fast turnaround results, and enhanced contact tracing by the state and counties.