Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s order closing “nonessential” businesses and urging residents to stay home is set to expire on Thursday, April 30. On Wednesday, April 22, Ducey said he has not yet determined whether to extend the order, let it expire or modify it. His spokesmen are equally vague.
While some refer to Ducey’s policy as a “stay-at-home” “order” akin to those in other states, it’s not. Rather than a restrictive stay-at-home order that would flirt with the same unconstitutionality that is already prompting lawsuits in other states over civil rights violations — Ducey’s order merely closes “nonessential” businesses. Even then, it leaves potential “essential” businesses open to interpretation.
At best, it’s a strongly-worded suggestion. It imposes no real restrictions and explicitly forbids any government officials from asking for documentation from people proving they are obeying said “order.”
Grocery stores remain open. Arizonans are restricted to these facilities which have limited their business hours, meaning the order has shoved everyone in the same shared petri dishes, which are often busier than normal. If anything, this makes spread more likely.
Despite this, due to Ducey’s orders, hospital administrators tell us they have been furloughing nurses and telling doctors to go home because our “surge” never happened. Without outpatient surgeries and routine procedures, hospitals can’t afford to keep doctors and nurses on staff. Millions of Americans are also avoiding necessary care out of fear of getting COVID-19 if they go to a hospital, resulting in a dramatic reduction in hospitalizations, emergency room visits, doctor visits and surgeries that could be performed.
Chronic conditions are going untreated, worsening patients’ health, virus notwithstanding. Once COVID-19 passes, hospital officials expect preventable deaths from chronic conditions to skyrocket in the months to come. In Seattle, heart attack admissions are down 50%, not because of fewer heart attacks, but because victims are dying rather than call 911. Hospitals and doctors at least need to get back to work and Ducey should lift the restrictions on elective care immediately, not wait until Friday, May 1.
Arizona infection numbers have slowed. Yavapai County actually peaked before Ducey imposed his order, and state numbers increased for weeks despite the order, apparently peaking this week. His order is effectively negligible.
It’s clear that the age-old American government solution of “just throw money at the problem” has failed. Banks gave huge loans of taxpayer money to huge companies, prioritizing their profits over helping small businesses. Not even $2 trillion was enough, so Congress passed another bill of half a trillion to replenish drained accounts.
No guidance will be coming from Washington, D.C. The White House changes daily: The president says the country is safe enough to open tomorrow, yet so dangerous that immigration must halt for months. Congress is politicking, looking toward Nov. 3, not April 30.
Thus we can only help ourselves. Ducey must take the lead. Respectfully, appointed public health officials are not elected, not tasked with collecting taxes nor keeping economies functioning and not constitutional law scholars. They are charged with protecting health and should not be granted sole control over public policy but be one voice in the choir.
Thus, we strongly urge the governor to let the order expire — or draft a new one that opens most retail but limits occupancy at places like theaters and restaurants.
Should Ducey lift the restrictions, life will not instantly return to normal. People who want or need to stay home will continue to do so — precisely what we advised people to do should they choose in our March 18 editorial, regardless of unconstitutional orders. Additionally, there have been enough warnings by public health experts — as well as over-the-top fearmongering pseudo-doctors and “insta-professionals,” including some in Sedona — that even the healthy will stay home when there is no public health reason to do so.
When restrictions are lifted on some or all businesses, owners can decide what restrictions to impose, be it limited hours or occupancy limits. Workers need to have the choice to work. Hundreds of thousands of Arizona workers are collecting unemployment checks and will be slow to return to work. Other workers and businesses, worried about further spread, will likely continue work-from-home policies.
Local governments expect to lose millions in sales taxes, meaning cuts, including essential departments like police. The cuts will only get worse the longer restrictions last.
A vaccine could take years. COVID-19 is here to stay and experts say we will all get it eventually as we do flu or chicken pox. In the meantime, epidemiologists suggest we rely on herd immunity like we do for all other infectious diseases. Epidemiological solutions often are counter-intuitive to individualized health treatment. But countries like Sweden that imposed no restrictions demonstrate social distancing and hand-washing alone is very effective.
Even with a vaccine, anti-vaxxers who most militantly swear by the CDC’s COVID-19 guidelines have already declared they will not vaccinate themselves nor their children, suggesting wild conspiracy theories about the CDC, Bill Gates or somehow, 5G cell towers. We must also rely on herd immunity to save these neighbors from themselves.
We cannot wait years for a cure nor months to reopen. Let the order end April 30 if not sooner.
Christopher Fox Graham
Managing Editor
