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Peter Aleshire
Consulting Publications Editor
All coverage of COVID-19 and the coronavirus is being published by Payson Roundup and Kramer Media free of charge and outside of our paywall, as a service to the community. The feed below is being updated by our editors around the clock, and includes our original reporting from our newsroom as well as Associated Press coverage of the pandemic occurring around the United States and the world. Please consider supporting local journalism in your community by purchasing a subscription.
Gila County has set the pace for the state when it comes to moving through the COVID-19 risk groups with vaccination clinics to administer the first of two required shots, but the pace will soon slow down due to a reduction in shipments from the state. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
Uncertainly hangs over the upcoming girls basketball season like a dark cloud thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
On Saturday, Jan. 16, the MHA Foundation will host a COVID-19 saliva testing blitz at the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-Day Saints from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Read more
The Payson school board at a special meeting this morning will decide whether schools should return to in-person classes as planned on Jan. 19, despite the surge in infections in the community. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
New cases of COVID-19 continue to surge across Arizona, throwing into harsh light the unexpectedly slow rollout of a new, high-tech vaccine. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
Months of hope amid delay turned to despair on Friday as the Arizona Interscholastic Association announced the cancellation of all winter sports. Read more
Gila County is currently leading the state in the rate of COVID vaccinations per capita. Read more
Due to the continued presence of COVID-19 and having the nation’s highest rate of coronavirus hospitalizations, the Sports Medicine Advisory Committee (SMAC) made a recommendation on Thursday to the AIA’s Executive Board to cancel the high school winter sports season. Read more
Gila County Superior Court is looking for lawyers to provide legal representation to indigent defendants in cases of juvenile dependency, guardianship/conservatorship, guardian-ad-litem; and ‘best interests attorney’ services. Read more
A new, more-easily spread strain of the COVID virus has swept through a Colorado nursing home, apparently infecting almost everyone in the facility. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
The debate about when schools should return to in-person classes has intensified, even as Arizona claims the crushing title as the nation’s COVID hot spot and teachers line up for vaccinations. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
On the first Saturday of 2021, the MHA Foundation helped coordinate the administration of 150 Moderna vaccines to public safety personnel and health care workers at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and organizers hope to do more – and soon. Read more
Teachers, cops, paramedics, firefighters, nurses and doctors lined up this week for the Gila County Health and Emergency Management Department’s first Northern Gila County COVID-19 vaccination event at the Payson High School Wilson Dome. Read more
Gila County wants to hire an immunization chief to help with the COVID-19 vaccine delivery. Read more
The Arizona Interscholastic Association, in partnership with PlayVS, had previously announced an expansion of its recognized varsity title offerings to include FIFA 21 and Madden NFL 21 for the upcoming Spring 2021 season. Read more
The nation’s most ambitious mass vaccination effort is going slower than expected while the surge of new COVID-19 cases continues to climb. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
The abrupt shift to distance learning last year across the nation had only a modest impact on student learning, according to several new national studies. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
PHOENIX -- The state's top school official wants Gov. Doug Ducey to keep schools closed to in-person learning for two weeks following the explosion of COVID-19 cases in the state. Read more
Today marks the start of a new year on the calendar, but you won’t find Craig Triphahn jumping for joy just yet. Read more
A doctor and local firefighters are speaking out in favor of the COVID vaccine after receiving their shots last week in the hopes it will give the community confidence to get inoculated once the vaccine is more widely available. Read more
Editor
Turns out, the voters of western Arizona who elected Rep. Paul Gosar are routinely canceling out the voters of eastern Arizona who elected Rep. Tom O’Halleran. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
COVID-19 deaths during the month, from Dec. 3 through Dec. 28, have gone from 97 to 126, according to the Gila County Health and Emergency Management Department. That’s nearly 30 deaths in less than 30 days. Read more
Looking for a job that’s a guaranteed conversation starter? Read more
Health care workers in Gila County began receiving vaccinations against COVID this week as new cases peaked, hospitals filled up and numbers began the first, hopeful sign of decline. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
The Shoofly Quilters presented 3,700 medical masks to Banner Payson Medical Center. Read more
School districts across the state received another dose of bad news last week, which will cost Payson schools more than $600,000. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
Gila County’s Public Health team needs residents to take part in a brief survey to help map distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine. Read more
COVID vaccines arrived in Gila County this week with hospitals receiving their first allotments of the Moderna vaccine. Read more
Editor
Flipping the calendar to 2021 isn’t going to magically cure the 2020 nightmare caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
Like many long-term care facilities, Payson Care Center is dealing with COVID-19 cases among residents and staff. Read more
Fifty Payson High fall sports student-athletes qualified for All-Academic honors through Sports360AZ.com based on either a 3.5 weighted grade point average or a 3.0 unweighted GPA. Read more
Payson’s three varsity teams are gearing up to start winter sports competition the first week of January. Read more
Front-line health care workers and nursing home residents in Arizona were slated this week to receive the first doses of a highly effective, safe vaccine against COVID-19. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
A record number of Arizonans are now hospitalized for COVID-19 as the state keeps its dubious distinction as the place where the virus is spreading faster than anywhere else in the country. Read more
The statewide plunge in K-12 district school enrollment has swamped Gov. Doug Ducey’s promise to limit the damage to school budgets. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
The Mogollon Sporting Association may not get enough credit for its role helping Rim Country wildlife, youth and the environment. Read more
The unemployment rate in Gila County has risen with a fresh surge in the pandemic — with little immediate sign the federal government will step in to help the jobless this time. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
Since the start of the month, Gila County officials have confirmed 305 COVID-19 cases, with 162 of those in Rim Country. Read more
The Arizona Game and Fish Department Commission held a meeting at Payson’s Quality Inn on Friday, Dec. 4. Read more
Two fresh COVID cases this week prompted Payson High School and Payson Center for Success to shift back to distance learning for the next two weeks. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
Gov. Doug Ducey will not order any businesses closed in three Arizona counties that, by his own standards, now have a substantial transmission of COVID-19, with a press aide saying there’s no reason for that. Read more
We don’t have to live like this forever, with the masks, social distancing, separation from family and pervasive fear and strain. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
Health care workers and nursing home residents and staff may get the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine before Christmas, say local and national health officials. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
Earlier this year, the Gila County Health and Emergency Services Department received a $1.6 million state grant for a variety of costs associated with its COVID-19 response: salaries; the purchase of test kits; and hiring support staff. Read more
A pop up drive-in featuring five nights of movies under the stars at Payson Event Center surrounding Thanksgiving Day weekend never popped up. Read more
The Arizona Interscholastic Association recently announced it was postponing the start of competition for winter sports until January 4. Read more
Gila County is getting more than $200,000 from the state to purchase two freezers capable of holding the COVID-19 vaccines that require dramatically low temperatures — down to 70 degrees below 0. Read more
As COVID cases in schools rise, school boards once again face an agonizing choice. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
The prison in Globe is dealing with a COVID outbreak with more than 100 inmates testing positive for the virus in the past week. Read more
Editor
Michelle May has hoped to put in a new entry/exit for kindergartners since she took over as Payson Elementary School principal last year. Read more
Banner Health has announced visitors will no longer be allowed in Banner locations across Arizona, including Payson. These restrictions went into place at 6 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 22. Read more
COVID-19 cases continue to climb in Gila County, with a running average of 70 new cases daily per 100,000 people in the past week. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
The line of cars snaked around the LDS church parking lot on Nov. 20 as 500 Payson residents took part in a free COVID-19 saliva test blitz administered by Arizona State University. Read more
At a special meeting of the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s Executive Board on Thursday, the board members voted to postpone the beginning of the winter sports competition season to a permissible start date of Jan. 5. The last permissible day of competition for winter sports will be Fr… Read more
Alan Simpson beamed with pride as he listened to the Pride of Payson Marching Band perform before a small crowd on Payson High School football field on Nov. 12. Read more
At a special meeting of the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s Executive Board on Thursday, the board members voted to postpone the beginning of the winter sports competition season to a permissible start date of Jan. 5, 2021. The last permissible day of competition for winter sports will… Read more
PHOENIX -- Arizona added more than 4,100 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, part of a trend that could have a nasty effect on the state's economic health and unemployment situation. Read more
Arizona continues its recovery from the pandemic recession — but the surge in new cases may threaten those gains. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
Gila County defied economic gravity this year, shrugging off a disastrous, statewide decline in tourism right on through the pandemic. Read more
Payson High Athletic Director Rich Ormand posted a new sign on a Wilson Dome glass door as fans streamed in to watch the Longhorns’ volleyball state tournament play-in game against Phoenix Bourgade Catholic on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Read more
Just a month ago there were five active COVID cases in Payson. Today, there are 14, a 180% increase. Read more
Rim Country Middle School will return to distance learning until Nov. 30 in response to a student who tested positive for COVID-19 as cases surge back into the “red zone” in Payson. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
Rim Country Middle School is returning to online only learning Monday after the district learned Friday one student had tested positive for COVID-19. Read more
Editor
Several COVID-19 testing events are planned in Payson next week. Read more
With COVID cases on the rise, state officials this week issued an earnest appeal to schools to abide by state and federal recommendations on masks, social distancing, testing, and quarantine. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
Arizona public health officials this week pleaded with residents to wear masks, avoid crowds and socially distance to again slow the pandemic in the months it will take to finish testing and distribute a vaccine. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
In this twisted year of COVID-19, the Payson High School Longhorn Theatre Department faced unique challenges in putting on its annual haunted house. Read more
They pack into the student section at Wilson Dome to root on the volleyball team this season, just like always. Read more
Gila County has surged back into the danger zone with COVID-19 caseloads well above the state and national averages, as social distancing and mask wearing declines and people go back to work and school. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
Third place in the 3A East Region is on the line as Payson closes the volleyball season with a game at Show Low today at 6:30 p.m. Read more
Clear skies and temperatures in the low 70s helped to make Saturday’s annual Payson Trunk or Treat Fall Festival a success once again. Read more
Payson’s police chief said a recent event involving a child approached by a man to enter his vehicle is a good reminder to parents to talk to their children about what to do if they face a similar situation. Read more
Editor
The health department quietly changed the metrics they are using to help school officials determine when to revert to all-online instruction recently. Read more
Payson’s school benchmark numbers have bounced up into the yellow zone, but will likely settle down again in the next week or two, according Gila County health officials. Read more
Consulting Publications Editor
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