Pima County officials asking people to stay at home if they can as hospitals hit capacity

article

Nurses and doctors work on the COVID floor at Valleywise Hospital.

TUCSON, Ariz. - Officials in Pima County say hospitals within the Southern Arizona county have hit capacity as COVID-19 continues to spread.

According to a tweet made by county officials, the level of COVID-19 transmission within the county is high, and they are asking people to stay at home if they can, especially if they are sick. They are also asking people to wear a mask when out in public.

According to a Pima County public health advisory, there is currently a voluntary curfew in the county from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.

"We recommend all residents limit travel during these hours to essential activities previously defined in the voluntary curfew announcement," read a portion of the advisory.

In addition, there is a voluntary shelter in place order, and public, as well as private, gatherings of individuals from separate households are strongly discouraged.

As of Dec 8, there are a total of 46,849 cases of COVID-19 cases in Pima County, as well as 730 deaths associated with the virus.

This story was reported on from Phoenix

Tune in to FOX 10 Phoenix for the latest news

Get the latest coronavirus news by downloading the FOX 10 News App. Our promise is that our alerts are there to inform you - not scare you.

Sign up for FOX 10 email alerts, newsletters

COVID-19 symptoms

Symptoms for coronavirus COVID-19 include fever, coughing, and shortness of breath. These, of course, are similar to the common cold and flu.

Expect a common cold to start out with a sore or scratchy throat, cough, runny and/or stuffy nose. Flu symptoms are more intense and usually come on suddenly, and can include a high fever.

Symptoms of COVID-19 may appear more slowly. They usually include fever, a dry cough and noticeable shortness of breath, according to the World Health Organization. A minority of cases develop pneumonia, and the disease is especially worrisome for the elderly and those with other medical problems such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes or heart conditions.