North Pima News

The novel coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the Arizona economy as the pandemic grows. 

Residents and businesses across the state are following executive orders from the governor and directions from the Centers for Disease Control, but many are worried about how long the economy can last and whether things are going to get better any time soon.

Pima County, which hosts Arizona's second-largest city, Tucson, is the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in Arizona. With 75 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, Pima County leads the state for confirmed cases.

Following Gov. Doug Ducey's Executive Order released March 23, major events have been suspended, schools and businesses have been shut down and a statewide ban has been imposed on eat-in and drink-in bars and restaurants. On March 24, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero declared a local emergency and warned any businesses not following the governor's executive orders that they risk being criminally charged.

“My top priority, above all else, is to protect public health. This is a painful decision that I do not take lightly. Several restaurants have already stopped dine-in service and transitioned to all drive-through and curbside pickup," Romero said. "I want to reiterate that food being served by our restaurants is safe. It is the congregation of individuals in a dine-in setting that is unsafe. At this time, the best thing we can do is come together as a community and take care of each other. We’re all in this together. We will get through this.”

As Romero expressed some businesses are offering options for customers. KOLD.com has a comprehensive list of local restaurants that are offering take-out and/or delivery options.

Among the hardest hit are businesses operating in the hospitality and tourism industries. Many Tucson businesses have shut their doors in response to the governor's and mayor's orders, but some have had to close their doors prematurely because they can't stand to financially ride out the storm.

Some help is on the way. Aid packages have been approved at the federal and state levels this week. This includes small business disaster loans designed to help small businesses cope with the outbreak. Although these loans will not replace lost profits and revenue they will help with additional costs associated with the pandemic.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, as of March 26, Arizona has 508 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 8 deaths.