Arizona Coronavirus Cases Spike While Residents, Businesses Await Financial Impact Of Benefits Running Out

Arizona has seen its coronavirus cases surge, after being one of the last states to close and the first to reopen. The state has reported over 143,600 cases of the coronavirus and over 2,700 deaths as of mid-morning on Monday, according to John Hopkins University.

The easing of stay-at-home orders has reportedly caused upheaval in Arizona as hundreds of thousands of people are still without jobs. Businesses are closing again and benefits are running out that allowed suffering states such as Arizona to weather the economic impact.

As many as 1 million Arizonians will lose their extra benefits as the CARES Act monies dry up, leaving them with unemployment benefits that are lower than most states, the Washington Post reported.

“If that happens, it will spell financial disaster for us,” Erlynne Campbell, a 47-year-old Phoenix resident, who lost her bookkeeping job in March, told the Post. “I obediently stayed home and filed for unemployment, and trusted I would be provided for in the time frame we needed to stay home to stay safe.”

Arizona, which has a population of 7.2 million, has become a coronavirus hotspot, which government officials have warned will put the state deeper into financial stress.

Republican Gov. Doug Ducey lifted the stay-at-home order in Arizona in May. The absence of restrictions meant a return to the routine for many residents.

“Our economy in Arizona, like other states, was tanking,” James Hodge, the director of the Center for Public Health Law and Policy at Arizona State University, told the Post. “There was unquestioned political apathy or political backlash toward what was considered heavy-handed government interventions.”

“Many people point to that as the catalyst, a very significant early demand to reopen the economy that was too soon.”

Ducey maintained in a news conference in early June that he is “confident that we have made the best and most responsible decisions possible.”

The U.S. had 3.7 million cases of the coronavirus and 140,500 deaths as of mid-morning on Monday, according to John Hopkins University.