Arizona’s first coronavirus death: Phoenix learned employee had COVID-19 after he died – AZCentral

Phoenix officials and managers in the metropolis’s Aviation Division first learned that an aviation employee had COVID-19 when the Maricopa County Division of Public Health called to repeat them of that several days after the man had died.

On March 17, the employee’s family notified the aviation department that the man had died. On March 20, the health department notified the metropolis that the man died of COVID-19 resulted in by the new coronavirus.

Within the wake of this news, the metropolis and aviation department scrambled to repeat coworkers and shut contacts that they would possibly possibly well perhaps also honest had been exposed to the virus, as smartly as to publicly acknowledge that Arizona’s first coronavirus victim used to be a metropolis employee.

The Maricopa County Division of Public Health is releasing no further recordsdata about the county’s first COVID-19 loss of life, at the side of how the man would possibly possibly well perhaps have contracted the new coronavirus, when he used to be examined or how lengthy it took to procure outcomes.

However the problem highlights the presence of neighborhood unfold in Maricopa County and the need for folk to act as if anybody they are available in in contact with would possibly possibly well perhaps have the virus and use social distancing and diversified techniques to halt its unfold. 

Timeline of the response to the loss of life

The Arizona Division of Health Services and products and Maricopa County Division of Public Health first released the news of Arizona’s first COVID-19 loss of life in a joint statement on Friday, March 20. It described the victim as in his 50s with underlying health prerequisites.

In relation to 2 hours later, the metropolis publicly acknowledged that the man used to be employed by the aviation department.

He labored in the Aviation Administration building on Buckeye Aspect motorway, no longer at Sky Harbor Airport itself. The administration building is no longer connected to the terminals and workers there attain no longer have day to day interplay with the traveling public.

For privateness reasons, the metropolis cannot disclose the unswerving day the man ultimate labored at the problem of job but did disclose he had no longer been in the problem of job for larger than a week. Julie Watters, a spokesperson for the metropolis, talked about the aviation department used to be no longer educated that the man  used to be experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 nor that he used to be being examined for coronavirus. Watters talked about the metropolis learned from his family he had handed away on March 17.

Watters told The Arizona Republic that the first notification that the employee examined distinct for the virus came when the county health department contacted the metropolis at 4: 30 p.m. Friday, March 20. 

By 7 p.m., the joint statement from the Arizona Division of Health Services and products and Maricopa County Division of Public Health went out notifying the public about the first COVID-19 loss of life in Arizona.

A half of hour later aviation department management began notifying workers it knew had been in shut contact with the deceased employee, Watters talked about.

At 8: 20 p.m., Phoenix Metropolis Manager Ed Zuercher despatched an e mail notifying the metropolis’s  15,000 workers about the problem. Workers also got indicators by text message.

At 8: 50 p.m., the metropolis confirmed publicly that the victim used to be an aviation employee.

On Saturday morning, aviation management ordered a thorough cleaning and sanitizing of aviation facilities and the governmentbuilding. Watters talked about many aviation department workers are teleworking, and management strongly impressed “all diversified workers to manufacture basically the most of teleworking alternatives as quickly as conceivable.”

What’s next for aviation workers

Bigger than 300 workers work in the Aviation Administration building, which has three floor. Watters talked about it is life like to evaluate the man would possibly possibly well perhaps have are available in in contact with a pair of dozen diversified workers. 

The general public health department is notifying man’s shut contacts, offering recordsdata about the virus and asking them to video display for symptoms. Within the event that they’ve symptoms, they are requested to contact their health-care provider. 

Sonia Singh, a spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Division of Public Health, declined to give further cramped print about the man’s loss of life. 

“We know we have neighborhood unfold of COVID-19 in Maricopa County. As a result of this fact, we must judge this like how we mediate about flu — that there are people on the market who have it all over the county, and whether or no longer they’ve been confirmed by a lab test or no longer, we are all seemingly to be exposed,” Singh told The Republic. 

COVID-19 symptoms and precautions

Signs of COVID-19 consist of fever, cough, runny nostril and difficulty breathing. It’s miles believed that symptoms can appear any place from two to 14 days after publicity to the virus.

Right here are suggestions from the Maricopa Division of Public Health about the trend to decrease your potentialities of contracting the virus:

• Wash your fingers recurrently with cleaning soap and water for 20 seconds to rid them of germs picked up by touching surfaces that will perhaps perhaps also honest had been exposed by an infected person’s sneezes or coughs.
• Steer obvious of touching your face, particularly your eyes, nostril and mouth. This keeps germs on your fingers from getting into your body.
• Steer obvious of those that are in uncomfortable health.
• Steer obvious of groups of 10 people or extra.
• Keep home if you occur to are in uncomfortable health so that you just attain no longer repeat others.
• Steer obvious of pointless physical contact with others.

You would possibly possibly well perhaps connect with Arizona Republic Client Tear Reporter Melissa Yeager at melissa.yeager@azcentral.com. It’s seemingly you’ll additionally practice her on Twitter and Instagram. 

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