As the Phoenix City Council prepares to approve a new budget to start in July, some members are already looking ahead to the next year.

Passenger traffic at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport is nearing pre-pandemic levels. Thanks to spring training and school breaks, March is usually Sky Harbor’s busiest month. The airport reported more than 4 million passengers last March, almost 6% less than March 2019.

The latest COVID-19 data from the state health department shows cases in Arizona are staying relatively low. The Arizona Department of Health Services added 2,350 cases and 99 deaths to its COVID-19 dashboard in its weekly update Wednesday.
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Mexico's top pandemic official also said the country is beginning to transition to the endemic phase of the outbreak.

Over the course of the pandemic, communities across the country have been trying to get in front of potential outbreaks by looking for the virus in wastewater. One of the earliest adopters of that method was WEST Center at the University of Arizona, which monitors wastewater from both on- and off-campus facilities.

Vaccinations can shield students against certain preventable diseases. But new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research shows rates of kindergartners receiving required shots have dropped since last year, likely due to disruptions caused by the pandemic.

A federal judge effectively ended the Biden administration’s mask mandate on public transport, including airplanes, this week. And almost immediately, major airlines and airports around the country told travelers they can shed their masks.

The latest COVID-19 update from the Arizona Department of Health Services shows cases are down slightly from last week.

A federal judge this week struck down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's order requiring masks on airplanes and other forms of mass transit. That includes Valley Metro’s trains and buses.