PHOENIX (AP) – Phoenix’s homeless population is grappling with its own surge in COVID-19 cases and more medical workers are urgently needed, lawyers say. A hotel in Phoenix that isolated and treated homeless people with the virus is nearly full these days, the Arizona Republic reports. Circle the City, which provides health care to the homeless, needs at least 50 additional nurses, medical assistants, security guards and other support staff. “We not only take care of this increased demand on behalf of our patients, we also have to contend with a shortage of staff,” said the spokeswoman for the Marty Hames Circle of the newspaper. The organization and Maricopa County have been running the Phoenix Inn since May 2020 as a haven for homeless people who have tested positive or are waiting for test results. According to Hames, the hotel was rarely full and they actually considered closing the store early this summer. In the past few weeks, however, the Phoenix Inn has reached its full capacity of 90 patients several times. Hames said the number of cases rose sharply as the highly transmissible Delta variant began to spread on Metro Phoenix. Since then there have been outbreaks in the “medical recreation centers” of Circle the City and other shelters. The cases are mostly unvaccinated, but there have been some groundbreaking cases, Hames added. As with many health care providers, Circle the City has seen many health workers leaving who are exhausted from the pandemic. The organization hopes to recruit more people with incentives like signing bonuses and a 401 (k) match. Circle the City is also trying to get more vaccines out there. They have hosted vaccination events for the homeless and offered them to anyone who shows up at their clinic. “We made progress,” said Hames. “But it is like in the general population: there are people who do not want to be vaccinated.” Michael Harris, who lost his hospital apartment with COVID-19, recently got vaccinated to avoid giving it to a friend he will be staying with temporarily. “I don’t want it again, I can tell you. It’s not fun at all, ”said Harris. Meanwhile, the Arizona Department of Health reported 2,744 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. The state also calculated an additional 25 deaths. The daily number of cases was likely higher as a system failure earlier in the week prevented all cases from being reported, officials said. The total number of the Arizona pandemic now stands at 1,093,583 cases and 19,984 deaths. The percentage of those eligible who received at least one dose of vaccine rose to 58.2% – or more than 4.1 million people. Almost 3.7 million were fully vaccinated. Man stuck in a rain drain in Arizona rescued after waving GLENDALE arm – A man stuck in a rain drain on the Phoenix subway was rescued Thursday after passers-by saw the man waved his arm from the drain, officials said. People stopped to see if the man needed help, said Glendale Fire Department spokeswoman Ashley Losch, and the man in the drain said he was stuck so they called 911. The man seemed fine after he climbed a ladder that firefighters lowered into the drain, but was taken to a hospital for a thorough examination, Losch said. The man told the fire department that he had a “bad day” when he entered the rain drainage system about two days ago in a park about 1.6 kilometers from where he was found, but the authorities could not confirm his information, called Losch. The name of the man who is said to be in his thirties has not been published. Losch said some sections of gullies are particularly dangerous because of their low oxygen levels. Mesa Police Shoot Suspected Tempe Bank Robber TEMPE (AP) – Mesa Police have shot and killed a suspected bank robber in Tempe, authorities said. The suspect has not yet been identified after the shooting on Wednesday. Tempe police said Mesa Police Department officials were looking for a man who allegedly robbed a bank for more than $ 1,000 on Monday. The officers found the suspect in his vehicle in a parking lot and asked him to get out, but the man refused. SWAT teams responded and tried to negotiate with the man who was reportedly armed. According to the authorities, the suspect got out of the vehicle and was shot dead. He was taken to a hospital where he later died. Authorities said a gun was found near the man after he was shot. No police officers were injured, according to authorities. Navajo Nation reports 67 more COVID-19 cases, 5 more deaths WINDOW ROCK (AP) – The Navajo Nation reported 67 more COVID-19 cases and five more deaths on Wednesday. The latest numbers brought the total number of the strain to 33,907 confirmed COVID-19 cases of the virus since the pandemic began more than a year ago. The known death toll is now 1,447. Based on September 10-23 cases, the Navajo Department of Health issued a recommendation for 40 communities due to the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19. The tribe’s reservation is the largest in the country at 27,000 square miles (70,000 square kilometers) and includes parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Navajo officials are urging people to get vaccinated, wear masks in public, and minimize their travel. Officials said all staff in the Navajo Nation’s executive branch must be fully vaccinated against the virus or undergo regular tests by the end of this month. The new rules apply to full, part-time, and temporary workers, including those who work for tribal businesses such as utilities, shopping malls, and casinos. Any worker who fails to provide proof of vaccination by Wednesday must be tested every two weeks or face disciplinary action. Mother of Beheaded Children Charged with their Murders LANCASTER, Calif. (AP) – An Arizona woman accused of killing her two children, who were beheaded at her home in Southern California last year, was found at her home in Tucson arrested, the authorities said on Wednesday. Natalie Brothwell, 44, was arrested Tuesday and held in the Pima County Jail pending extradition to California, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. Brothwell was charged Monday with murder and child endangerment, the department said. Their 13-year-old daughter Malaka Taylor and 12-year-old son Maurice Taylor Jr. were found beheaded on December 4 at their home in Lancaster, in the Mojave Desert, northeast of Los Angeles. The children’s father, 35-year-old Maurice Taylor Sr., was previously charged with her death and remains in custody, according to authorities. Maurice Taylor allegedly killed the children on November 29, kept the bodies indoors for days, and then showed them to his other two sons. Taylor was charged with child molestation of surviving sons, who were then 8 and 9 years old. The children were also forced to stay in their rooms without food for several days, prosecutors alleged. Brothwell’s alleged role in the killings was not immediately apparent from the Sheriff’s Department statement. Nor was it immediately clear whether Brothwell or Taylor had attorneys speaking on their behalf.
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