Pima County officials disagree with governor lifting COVID-19 mitigation measures
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey today barred Pima County from requiring everyone in Pima County wear a face mask when in close proximity to others in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He also is preventing Pima County from limiting gatherings of people where social distancing can’t be maintained, or requiring businesses, such as restaurants, bars, theaters, and gyms, to follow mitigation measures that limit occupancy and increase sanitation.
“The governor appears to have declared the pandemic over while still retaining his emergency powers to prevent local jurisdictions from protecting the public from a deadly infectious disease,” said Pima County Board of Supervisors Chair Sharon Bronson. “We’ve seen this before. He imposed a shutdown order too late in 2020, then lifted it too early and we had the summer spike in infections. He’s making the same mistake and the tragedy of that is more people will needlessly get sick and may die by his reckless action.”
In March, more than 1,400 people have been infected with COVID-19 and at least 44 have died. As of March 24, there were 97 people in area hospitals with COVID-19, 29 of them in the ICU. Those numbers are higher than when the governor eased COVID-19 restrictions in May 2020 after a brief “Stay At Home” order. He then had to strengthen restrictions in July as infections and deaths rose.
“While the number of people vaccinated is slowly increasing, we only have about 174,000 people fully vaccinated in Pima County and only about 273,000 people have had at least one dose. We need to be between 700,000 and 800,000 fully vaccinated to have protection from the spread of the virus and the possibility of ending this pandemic,” said County Chief Medical Officer Dr. Francisco Garcia. “This is way too early to be easing mitigation measures. I fear this is going to set us back on the progress we’ve made and risk more illness and death.”
The governor in his announcement today asked businesses to voluntarily continue mitigation measures such as physical distancing and mask wearing. County Health Director Dr. Theresa Cullen will be issuing a new Public Health Advisory March 26 that will emphasize the need for continued mitigation and protection against the spread of COVID-19.
“As the governor readily admits, we are still in the midst of a public health emergency. People are still getting sick and dying. It is incumbent upon all of us to do everything we can to prevent the spread of this disease,” Dr. Cullen said. “I know the restrictions on business has been very difficult and some have had to stop operating. And we’re all tired of the masks and limitations. But I urge businesses to think about the safety of their customers and their own employees. We need people to keep wearing masks. We need people to limit their gatherings and how many people are in a closed area without ventilation. We need everyone, not just businesses, to take this seriously. We are still in a very deadly situation and if we’re reckless in our behavior, it will get worse, especially now that the COVID variants are established in our County.”
Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry noted the irony of Gov. Ducey's decision today, which the governor said was based on confidence on the speed of vaccinations, when the governor just prevented the federal government from providing an additional 210,000 vaccine doses to Pima County.
“While the governor acts like the pandemic is over, we know it’s not. Pima County will continue to take the necessary precautions to protect the public health at our facilities and properties, which includes leased properties. Masks will still be required in our buildings and properties, including among staff, and occupancy and physical distancing will still be enforced,” Huckelberry said. “Restrictions will ease in County parks, facilities, buildings and properties when our Health leaders and the science says it’s safe to do so. We’re not going to let politics drive our decision making when it comes to protecting public health.”
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