Scottsdale mayor: Weekend images from Old Town are ‘disturbing’

PHOENIX – During the Memorial Day weekend, images flooded social media that showed crowded restaurants in Old Town Scottsdale amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane called the images “disturbing.”

“The images from Old Town Scottsdale this weekend are disturbing, and frankly show a real lack of common sense and civic responsibility,” Lane said in a tweet Tuesday.

The images from Old Town Scottsdale this weekend are disturbing, & frankly show a real lack of common sense & civic responsibility. Businesses & their patrons need to realize that individually we each play an absolute part in our own personal hygiene, distancing… 1/

— Mayor W.J. Jim Lane (@MayorJimLane) May 27, 2020

Social media was filled with a plethora of images and videos with people packed into nightclubs and restaurants in Old Town while failing to practice social distancing.

“It is imperative that all businesses comply with the governor’s executive orders – to ignore them is to risk faster spread of this disease and further damage to our physical and economic wellbeing,” Lane said.

The Memorial Day weekend was the first long weekend since the state’s stay-at-home order expired May 15. Arizona is still in the first phase of reopening the state which places an emphasis on avoiding social settings where physical distancing isn’t practical.

Lane said he’s personally reaching out to businesses that were shown with large crowds to discuss the importance of having continued progress.

“Now more than ever we need people and businesses to do the right things,” Lane said.

He implored people to stay at home if they feel sick or have symptoms related to COVID-19.

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