COVID-19 in Arizona: Mayors will await governor’s lead on reopening state
PHOENIX – During an online roundtable discussion Tuesday, four Arizona mayors discussed economic challenges facing their cities as they await Gov. Doug Ducey’s decision on reopening the state.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego has requested that Ducey allow mayors to be a part of the decision process on whether to extend or keep the stay-at-home order, which is set to expire at the end of Thursday. The governor last week said he would base his decision on the latest data on the spread of COVID-19 in the state, which has claimed 293 lives so far.
“Governor Doug Ducey put in an executive order and has made it clear that he is the decision maker on these issues,” Gallego said. “Governor Ducey’s staff used to have phone calls daily with the mayors at the beginning of the virus, but they have canceled that.”
The mayors of Casa Grande and Tolleson reported that more essential businesses in their cities stayed open during Ducey’s order than in Phoenix and Mesa, which might help them in the long run.
“A lot of our industry is essential so it continues to work, we have about 27 manfucturing facilities. The biggest issue is going to be the bars and restaurants,” said Casa Grande Mayor Craig McFarland, adding that the city’s 2020-21 budget is expected to fall just 0.6%.
Several mayors said that whenever Ducey allows businesses to reopen, it will have to be done gradually, with social distancing and crowd-size limits still in place.
“It’ll be interesting to see how we transition out of the stay-at-home order to what extent we incorporate social distancing into our daily lives so we can engage in economic activity as soon as possible,” Mesa Mayor John Giles said. The roundtable was hosted by the Greater Phoenix Economic Council.
As of Tuesday, April 28, the Arizona Department of Health Services reported 6,948 cases of COVID-19 and 293 deaths in the state. It said 67,438 tests for COVID-19 have been completed as of April 28 in public and private labs in Arizona, and 8.7% of tests have come back positive for the virus.
