Arizona Joins Texas and Florida in Locking Down by Executive Edict Over Virus Concerns
Richard Moorhead
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Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced that the state will re-institute a set of lockdown restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus, as the spread of the Chinese virus spikes throughout the southwestern state.
Bars, gyms, movie theaters, water parks, and water tubing will be ordered closed by the state government for thirty further days, with a potential extension of lockdown measures on July 29th if the state determines that the spread virus is still a potent threat.
The start of the school year is being delayed in August, and restrictions on gatherings of large people are being brought back into effect. The governor framed the reinstatement of restrictions as a necessary measure to allow society to reopen in late July.
Governor Ducey had warned that “bad actors would be held accountable” during last week’s gubernatorial press conference, pointing to businesses and event venues that were failing to recognize social distancing requirements after the state allowed a limited reopening of businesses. One popular Scottsdale nightclub, Riot House, has been charged with a misdemeanor and a potential $2,500 fine for allowing patrons to gather in close proximity earlier in the month.
Arizona has become one of the nation’s coronavirus hotspots after largely avoiding an extreme initial outbreak of the virus in the spring. State authorities are citing new daily case rates of almost 4,000, and a total case load of over 70,000 as an imperative for the renewed application of restrictions.
However, the death rate relative to the amount of new cases is far lower than what public health officials have observed earlier in the pandemic and in other states, perhaps suggesting that the new outbreak of COVID-19 cases is occurring primarily among young people who stand a lessened chance of incurring a serious or potentially fatal case of the virus.
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