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Five months after President Donald Trump hailed Arizona as a model for how it dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts warned Wednesday that the state has become “the hot spot of the world” and that health restrictions the governor has been hesitant to impose could have tamped down the crisis. “It’s way worse than July already, and it’s going to continue to get worse. We’re probably two weeks behind LA in terms of our situation,” Will Humble, head of the Arizona Public Health Association, said referring to Los Angeles County, where a COVID-19 surge has created a shortage of oxygen and led ambulance crews to stop transporting patients they can’t revive in the field. (Tang, 1/6)

College of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City says it will offer a course in first aid for mental health amid the surge of mental health challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The Virginian-Pilot reported Wednesday that the community college will conduct the eight-hour course this spring. It will be for students in the school’s human services technology program, which is for entry-level positions in mental health fields. (1/6)

KHN: Illinois Is First In The Nation To Extend Health Coverage To Undocumented Seniors 

As a nurse manager for one of Chicago’s busiest safety-net hospitals, Raquel Prendkowski has witnessed covid-19’s devastating toll on many of the city’s most vulnerable residents — including people who lack health insurance because of their immigration status. Some come in so sick they go right to intensive care. Some don’t survive. “We’re in a bad dream all the time,” she said during a recent day treating coronavirus patients at Mount Sinai Hospital, which was founded in the early 20th century to care for the city’s poorest immigrants. “I can’t wait to wake up from this.” (Bruce, 1/7)

KHN: In Los Angeles And Beyond, Oxygen Is The Latest Covid Bottleneck 

As Los Angeles hospitals give record numbers of covid patients oxygen, the systems and equipment needed to deliver the life-sustaining gas are faltering. It’s gotten so bad that Los Angeles County officials are warning paramedics to conserve it. Some hospitals are having to delay releasing patients as they don’t have enough oxygen equipment to send home with them. (Bichell and Weber, 1/7)

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that he will introduce a proposal that would finally legalize marijuana in New York state. “I’m announcing a proposal to legalize cannabis and create an equitable adult-use cannabis program in NYS,” Cuomo tweeted Wednesday. “This program will generate much-needed revenue, while allowing us to support those that have been most harmed by decades of failed cannabis prohibition.” (Kreps, 1/6)