By Maria Polletta | Arizona Republic
With the end date for his statewide stay-at-home order just a week away, Gov. Doug Ducey has outlined three possible options: Let the mandate expire, extend it as is or gradually modify its restrictions.
But many of his constituents see only two: He can risk their lives by rolling back restrictions too quickly or risk their livelihoods by taking too long.
As business owners, politicians, medical experts, faith leaders and residents have grown increasingly vocal in recent days about what Ducey should do next, their predictions about what will happen if he doesn’t follow their advice have grown increasingly dire.
And as governors throughout the U.S. have announced plans to loosen, maintain or change stay-at-home orders in other states, their decisions have created a series of comparison points against which Ducey’s actions undoubtedly will be judged.
Arizona’s stay-at-home order generally permits residents to leave their homes only for food, medicine, exercise and other “essential activities,” and requires them to practice social distancing guidelines when in public.
So far, it appears to have accomplished Ducey’s goal of “flattening the COVID-19 curve,” helping the state avoid a situation where infections spike, hospitals are overwhelmed and Arizonans die preventable deaths.
Related: Reopening too fast could backfire, Pinal board told https://cutt.ly/Iyi3Nrt
