Gov. Doug Ducey did not announce significant new measures to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Arizona today despite pleas for aggressive action from doctors, mayors and some state lawmakers.
The Republican leader acknowledged the state’s spiraling case numbers and hospitalizations, as well as the effectiveness of the state’s April stay-at-home order.
But at a news briefing where he encouraged Arizonans to stay at home, he rolled out just one policy change: a minor directive further limiting restaurant capacity for dine-in service.
The executive order requires restaurants to “operate at less than 50 percent of the permitted fire code occupant load,” not including staff, and to “ensure at least 6 feet of separation between parties or groups.”
Critics pointed out that a rule limiting restaurant occupancy has been in place since June 17.
U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, tweeted this during the news conference:
Just a quick note, AZ – June 17, new guidelines for restaurants were issued. Capacity was limited to under 50% of fire code. Masks required.
THIS IS NOT NEW.
Link to the June 17 executive order and restaurant guidance here:https://t.co/ZtjW7o59wN
What the hell is going on?
— Kyrsten Sinema (@kyrstensinema) July 9, 2020
Ducey already had required restaurants to operate at “reduced occupancy” but had not explicitly defined what that meant.
“This is a process of risk reduction,” Ducey said at an afternoon news briefing, his first in 10 days.
“It’s about making the best decision possible to reduce your risk of contracting this virus, to reduce your risk of spreading the virus and especially spreading the virus to someone that’s most vulnerable.”
In recent weeks, Ducey has allowed local governments to issue mask requirements and has mandated the closure of bars, gyms, theaters, water parks and inner-tubing.
But he has stopped short of bolder action as the state grapples with one of the worst COVID-19 surges in the world.
“(There are) things that we can do to get our arms around the crisis as quickly as possible,” Ducey said before announcing the order and a new partnership designed to speed up processing times for COVID-19 tests. “There are continued sacrifices that are needed.”
The state topped 2,000 known deaths from COVID-19 today, with more than 112,000 confirmed cases.
Inpatient hospitalizations and ventilators in use by suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients both hit new records on Wednesday, according to hospital data reported to the state.
Ducey described June’s numbers as “brutal” as he moved through a series of charts showing upticks in caseloads, hospitalizations and percentages of positive test results.
He suggested recent containment measures were beginning to help flatten the state’s numbers, though it’s likely too early to say that for sure.
Hospitals continue to report more than 4,000 new cases daily, and it typically takes at least two weeks for the impact of containment measures to show up in the data.
Ducey’s inaction drew swift criticism from Democrats, as well as some public health officials.
“Today, Governor Ducey missed another opportunity to take decisive statewide action and save lives,” Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said in a statement. “He is the elected leader of our state and every day he waits, more people become infected and more lives are needlessly lost. Today’s announcements are simply not good enough.”
U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said on Twitter that he’d watched the briefing “hoping the severity of the COVID crisis would spur our governor to take bold action.” Instead, he got “more of the same: equivocation & inaction, ‘guidance’ but no mandates, slick powerpoints & slogans,” he said.
Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association, argued occupancy limits were essentially useless without enforcement.
“What matters is compliance,” he said, asking: “Who is going to show up and urge them to spread the tables out?”