More Coronavirus in Arizona? Here’s What the Department of Health Has to Say.

Plus two other noteworthy Tuesday topics.

The Maricopa County Department of Public Health is now conducting additional testing for coronavirus after a member of the Arizona State University community was found to be infected.

The Arizona Republic has confirmed that County officials expect the virus to spread, but are working to keep the threat contained.

“It’s incredibly likely that we will see additional cases in the United States in the coming days and weeks,” said Jessica Rigler, assistant director for Arizona Department of Health Services. “I can’t say with any kind of certainty whether we’ll see additional cases popping up in Arizona or not. But it wouldn’t be shocking, given that international travel is frequent.”

Health officials recommend everyone take the following precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus:

• Wash hands regularly.
• When washing, use soap and water, and scrub for at least 20 seconds.
• Wash hands before touching mouth, nose or ears.
• Keep mouth and nose covered when coughing or sneezing.
• Don’t go to work if feeling ill.
• Don’t be around people who are feeling ill.

On Tuesday, a Mesa family currently in the virus’ epicenter, Wuhan, China, told Arizona’s Family the feeling in Wuhan is a mix of resilience and anxiety, but people are going on with their daily lives.

They also said nurses, doctors, scientists, and biologists are working hard to find vaccines and different ways to contain the virus.

Arizona Attorney General contests controversial voting law ruling

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich wasted no time contesting a court ruling issued Monday that reversed two of the state’s controversial voting laws. Brnovich announced his plans to appeal the decision hours after the ruling came out.

The court reversed a law prohibiting the return of mail-in ballots by individuals other than the voters they were mailed to, and removed the requirement that voters could only vote at their assigned polling places. The ruling said that the laws perpetuated Arizona’s history of laws that target “American Indian, Hispanic, and African American citizens, limiting or eliminating their ability to vote and to participate in the political process.”

Court filings reveal both laws led to fewer votes cast by Black, Latino, and Native Americans, while having virtually no impact on white voters. If Brnovich follows through with his promise, the case will be sent to the U.S. Supreme Court.

McSally defends “liberal hack” attack

Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) published an op-ed in The Arizona Republic Monday, where she defended her dismissive treatment of CNN congressional correspondent Manu Raju. Previously, Raju approached McSally with questions regarding President Trump’s impeachment trial, to which McSally replied by calling the reporter a “liberal hack.” After the interaction went viral, McSally’s campaign started selling t-shirts to commemorate the controversy.

“I don’t have time for the language games they expect you to play in Washington,” McSally wrote. “I had a reputation in the military for speaking candidly, sometimes in an edgy way, and often on what others were thinking but not saying out loud.”

McSally closed her column by reminding readers that her attack against Raju was her way to stand up for truth.

“And if that means towel-snapping a reporter every now and then to remind them that we are all in on the joke,” she concluded, “I’ll be the first one in line to do it.”