Story at a glance
- As of Monday night, Arizona tallied more than 54,000 cases of COVID-19 and has doubled the number of cases in just 15 days.
- The state has recorded 1,351 deaths.
- Roughly 3,000 young Arizonians are expected to be in attendance.
President Trump will be speaking to thousands of his supporters Tuesday in Arizona as the state is experiencing a surge of coronavirus cases that shows no signs of slowing down.
Trump will be visiting Yuma, Ariz., to tour border wall construction operations before he heads to Phoenix to speak at an event organized by conservative advocacy group Turning Point Action. Roughly 3,000 Arizonians are expected to be in attendance.
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The president’s visit comes as the Grand Canyon State has a coronavirus crisis on its hands. As of Tuesday morning, Arizona tallies 54,599 cases of COVID-19, and has doubled the number of cases in just 15 days, according to NBC News’ tally. On Monday, the state reported 2,196 new cases, and there have been a total of 1,342 deaths.
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As the case count continues to climb, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) reversed his position on masks last week, allowing for counties and cities to make the decision whether they will require their residents to wear masks when they are unable to adhere to social distancing guidance.
“We recommend that all Arizonans wear a face mask,” Ducey said during a news conference last week. “Whenever you cannot socially distance. At the grocery store. At the pharmacy. At the bank. When you’re on mass transit. We are going to change and update guidance so that local governments can implement mask and face covering policies so they can determine enforcement.”
In Phoenix, the mayor has decided to make masks mandatory for people inside buildings who are not able to put 6 feet between themselves and others.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego (D) told CNN she hopes everyone attending Tuesday’s event will comply with the requirement, including the president, who has not adhered to public health experts recommendations to wear a face covering.
“It is not safe right now to have any large events, whether it be for the President of the United States or a large indoor sporting event,” Gallego told CNN.
The organizers behind the event say they expect attendees to wear face masks in accordance with local ordinances.
The event comes on the heels of Trump’s controversial campaign rally on Saturday in Tulsa, Okla., where most of the attendees opted not to wear face masks in defiance of guidance from public health officials.
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