By Maria Polletta |Arizona Republic
Arizona’s strategies to contain the new coronavirus remain less aggressive than those adopted by several other states, even after Gov. Doug Ducey changed his tune on school closures and public gatherings in rapid succession Sunday.
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By the time the Republican leader decided to shutter schools for two weeks, for instance, more than 30 of his peers had closed or shared plans to close schools in their states.
His recommendation to follow new federal guidelines urging people to postpone or cancel events with more than 50 people came after about 10 other governors had banned large gatherings, with one going a step further and limiting attendance to 25.
Ducey has not alluded to any plans to shut down on-site consumption at restaurants and bars, as leaders in California, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Ohio and Washington have. Nor has he shuttered state parks and museums, like New Mexico’s governor, or said he’s weighing a statewide curfew, like New Jersey’s top executive.
In fact, Sunday’s announcements came after weeks of avoiding measures that would significantly disrupt Arizonans’ plans, and days after Ducey and other top officials said they saw no reason to cancel large gatherings or shut down in-person instruction.
March 16, 2020—1:50p.m. Number of coronavirus cases in Arizona now up to 18
