Desert Messenger

WHAT'S INSIDE 2 Don't leave your pets in car 3 La Paz Regional Hospital 4 Health Dept. COVID-19 6 Editorial 7 Museum updates 8 Chamber closures 8 Saga of inept ukulele student 9 Restaurants 13 Phone Tree 14 Food Bank updates 15 The Salvation Army Updates 12 Around Town 16 HerbMama 16 Assessor's Announcement 17 Museum updates 17 County Solar agreement 18-19 In Memoriam 20 Puzzles 21 Classifeds 21 Paul Winer's Cartoon 23 PHOTOS www.DesertMessenger.com • "Quartzsite's FREE Community Paper" • 928-916-4235 WEDNESDAY, March 18, 2020 VOL. 16 # 317 Now in our 1 6 t h YEAR! Alwa y s FREE! In Memoriam Paul Winer's Cartoon SEE COVID-19 PAGE 5 Special coverage of COVID-19 THIS IS A RAPIDLY EVOLVING SITUATION! What we know and how it will affect you. Seniors stay home! • On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) a Public Health Emergency of In- ternational Concern. • March 11, 2020 Governor Doug Ducey issued a Declaration of Emergency and an Executive Order to provide health offi cials and administrators with tools and guidance necessary to combat the continued spread of COVID-19 and to reduce fi nancial burdens on Arizonans by lowering healthcare costs associated with the virus. • March 13, 2020 President Don- ald Trump declared a National Emergency to help handle the growing outbreak of coronavirus and free up $50 billion in federal resources to combat coronavirus. • Monday, March 16, 2020 the White House announced new guidelines to combat COVID-19. "The President's Coronavirus Guidelines for America: 15 Days to Slow the Spread" provides updated guidance that includes avoiding social gatherings of more than 10 people, includ- ing festivals, events, concerts, and weddings. However, just the previous day, the Center for Disease Control had issued recommendations to avoid groups of 50 or more, signifying the response to the coronavirus is rapidly changing across the US. • In Arizona: On January 27, 2020, the state activated the Health Emergency Operations Center to track suspected and con- fi rmed cases of COVID-19 at the local, national and global level. • On March 2, 2020, Arizona be- came one of the fi rst states in the nation to be certifi ed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to test for COVID-19. • On March 4, 2020, Arizona re- ceived $500,000 in federal funding to support COVID-19 Response, providing immediate access to resources for a limited number of states and local jurisdictions im- pacted by the outbreak. • March 11, 2020, Arizona re- ceived over $12.4 million from the CDC to support the public health response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Key funding priorities will include surveillance and in- vestigation activities, laboratory testing, infection control supply procurement and distribution, and risk communication. • March 12, 2020, Governor Du- cey signed legislation to appropri- ate $55 million to Arizona's Public Health Emergency Fund to sup- port the state's continued efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19. • March 16, 2020 Gov. Doug Du- cey and State Superintendent Hoff- man announced that all schools in the state of Arizona will be closed from Monday, March 16th thru Friday, March 27th. • Quartzsite Elementary School issued a statement, "Beginning on Tuesday, March 17th; QES and EES will have meals for pickup.Break- fast will be available from 7:30 am to 8:30 am. Lunch will be avail- able from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. Regardless of which campus your child attends, meals can be picked up at either location. This also in- cludes headstart students.If you are authorizing another person to pick up meals for your child(ren), please call ahead of time to the dis- trict offi ce at (928) 923-7900. • March 17, 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) urged coun- tries across the globe to take aggres- sive actions to combat COVID-19. • March 17, La Paz County Health Dept. said there are "zero" confi rmed cases in the the county. However, they are waiting for results from 5 tests and don't have an expectation of receiving results. The public is encouraged to go to their website for updates: https://www.lpchd.com. The Arizona Poison and Drug In- formation Center is now available to take COVID-19 calls from Arizona providers and the general public: 1- 844-542-8201 • La Paz Regional Hospital began restricting visitors to the hospital. Only one entrance, the Emergency Department entrance, is open at the hospital. All patients will be screened upon entry. Trump says, "Older persons, stay home!"

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