It sure looks like Arizona is going for another shutdown to deal with the coronavirus, but I suspect that Republican Governor Ducey would prefer to call it a “de-reopening” of Arizona.
Conceding he made a mistake in allowing them to reopen, Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday shuttered all bars in the state for at least the next 30 days.
Ditto gyms, water parks, movie theaters and tubing along Arizona rivers.
And schools won't open until at least Aug. 17, two weeks later than the planned start date for most districts on traditional calendars.
The moves come as Ducey acknowledged the explosion of cases of COVID-19 that started two weeks after his mid-May order reopening the state economy. That two weeks pretty much coincides with the incubation period of the virus when people are exposed.
"We're fixing it" the governor said when asked if he screwed up in letting bars reopen six weeks ago.
He separately banned gatherings of more than 50 people. Churches and political rallies are exempt.
Emboldened is my doing.
Ducey is STILL trying to kiss Republican asses here with that exemption for churches and political rallies. Churches are hotspots for the coronavirus. But we have to keep the evangelicals happy. And why the fuck does anyone need a political rally? Oh. That’s right. The orange baboon in the White House loves those rallies.
But there still is no keep your ass at home order from Ducey.
But Ducey, who repeatedly hammers home the message that people are "safer at home," refused to reinstate his stay-at-home order. He said it's not necessary.
"The objective today is to slow the spread of this," the governor said. And Ducey said he believes the state can get infection levels back to where they were in the middle of May — when the restrictions were lifted — without an edict.
"I think Arizonans are smart and have common sense and will demonstrate responsibility," he said.
Uh, no they are not. Arizonans are just like all the other dummies in America who hear “reopen” and think, “Everything is back to normal and the coronavirus is GONE!” Look at all the dummies who have run out to the bars with no social distancing and no masks. And the beaches and rivers and so on.
And thirty days is not going to cut it, especially if people have to go to work. And your employer feels that social distancing and masks are just too big a hassle. Or your employer thinks that wearing a mask makes you a loser or a wimp.
I feel for those who have to suffer from the idiocy of Governor Ducey and all those in Arizona who think that COVID-19 is not real.