PHOENIX — The things that health experts said would work to slow the coronavirus spread look like they’re working.
For the second week in a row, Arizona public health officials say the infection’s relentlessly upward curve is starting to flatten.
But one official cautions against rushing a return to normal.
“This is great news,” said Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine, Maricopa County’s medical director.
“But it doesn’t mean we can relax our social distancing measures yet.”
During a video conference Wednesday with reporters,
Sunenshine displayed a graphic tracking the more than 400 people admitted to county hospitals for the coronavirus.
The trend line shows the hospitalization curve slowly bending into a flat line.
“You can see it’s been almost flat for an entire week, beginning the first week in April,” Sunenshine said.
It’s happening statewide, too.
Arizona Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ noted the same trend at Tuesday’s news conference. She displayed a chart showing the daily percentage growth in hospitalizations was slowing down.
“It’s possible that’s because our social distancing measures were so effective that we may have already reached close to the peak,” Sunenshine said.
Gov. Doug Ducey hopes to start a so-called return to normal in two weeks. He’s seeking ideas from business leaders.
President Donald Trump also appears intent on reviving some segments of the economy when his social distancing guidelines expire April 30, the same day as Ducey’s stay-at-home order ends.
"It's too early right now for me to say that there's something magical about May 1,” Ducey said Tuesday. “Of course I'm hopeful. It’s aspirational.”
12 News confirmed this week that the governor is thinking about allowing financially struggling hospitals to resume performing elective surgeries. He halted the operations last month.
Sunenshine cautions against moving too quickly.
If coronavirus hospitalizations have indeed peaked, could remain at the peak for a while, she said.
“You have to do it in a gradual fashion,” Sunenshine told reporters. “Because if you pull back too quickly, then you risk having a second peak or a resurgence of cases.”
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