Gov. Doug Ducey says there are no plans to shut down Arizona
Nov 24, 2020, 9:45 AM | Updated: 7:05 pm
(AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
PHOENIX – Gov. Doug Ducey said Arizona has not shut down during the coronavirus pandemic and that was not on the table.
“The plan is stay open in a safe and healthy way,” Ducey said Tuesday on KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show.
“We never have shut down. We’ve had a stay home, stay connected, stay healthy order, we’ve had some targeted measures, and we tried to stay focused on things that would make a difference,” Ducey said.
He added, “We never lifted everything.”
Restaurants opened for dining at 50% capacity, movie theaters also were limited to half-capacity while gyms were held to 25%. “We’re gonna keep pressing on that.”
And, “Folks are wearing masks,” Ducey said. Although the state does not have a mask mandate, he has strongly encouraged mask-wearing in public.
He pointed to White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx praise of Arizona’s slowing the spread.
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“[She said] Arizona was a model state and how we reduced our spike in late June and and early July. We’ve not lifted those mitigation measures. They’re still there,” Ducey said.
Arizona’s weekly positivity rate went from 20% in late June to 4% in early October, but has been climbing.
The positivity rate was 12% for the 135,597 tests reported last week, the highest since it was 12% for the week starting July 19.
The state health department reported 4,544 new coronavirus cases and 51 more deaths on Tuesday, putting Arizona’s documented totals at 306,868 COVID-19 infections and 6,515 fatalities.
