South Tucson joins in proclaiming coronavirus emergency; not closing eateries

Posted Mar 18, 2020

Dylan Smith
TucsonSentinel.com

Biggs/Flickr

The City of South Tucson, the independent square-mile enclave entire surrounded by its larger neighbor with a shorter name, declared a state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic Wednesday.

The city, known for its Mexican restaurants and perennially squeezed municipal budget, joined the city of Tucson, and the towns of Marana, Oro Valley and Sahuarita in proclaiming the existence of a local emergency.

Pima County is set to issue a declaration covering the unincorporated areas of the county at an emergency meeting on Thursday.

"In order to flatten the curve of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, keep our community from becoming overwhelmed and maximize available funding," Mayor Bob Teso issued the declaration.

Unlike the measures undertaken by Tucson and proposed in the county, the South Tucson proclamation does not close bars or other recreational businesses, nor does it limit restaurant service.

Like the towns in the county, the small city is encouraging residents and businesses to implement social distancing, and advising the increased use of delivery and drive-through service at establishments serving food.