Arizona COVID-19 cases spike, calls for emergency plan

Coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are spiking in parts of California and the U.S. Southwest, prompting Arizona to reactivate its emergency plan for medical facilities and California to place counties where half its population lives on a watch list.

Jillian Kitchener has more.

After Arizona lifted its stay at home restrictions in the middle of May, people flooded bars, pools, water parks and hair salons.

Since then - Arizona’s coronavirus caseload spiked 115 percent.

On Saturday, Arizona’s health director told hospitals to activate coronavirus emergency plans.

States that moved to lift public health restrictions are seeing an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases.

A Reuters analysis shows infections in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah shot up 40 percent or more last week compared with the prior seven days, joining hotspots in the South like Florida and Arkansas.

Arizona’s former state health chief said a "cavalier" exit from its stay-at-home order caused the sudden case surge… and said Governor Doug Ducey must now impose stricter measures like mandatory face mask use in public spaces.

Ducey last week told a press briefing that the increase in cases was to be expected due to a rise in testing.

Cases and hospitalizations are spiking in parts of California too… According to a Reuters analysis, more than 18 million of California's 39 million residents live in counties now on a watch list.

The uptick in cases, which could lead authorities to reimpose or tighten public health restrictions, complicates efforts to reopen the U.S. economy… or even to keep businesses like these open.