It’s not very often the bars, gyms and schools all find common ground, but they have in this pandemic for the simple fact of being steamrolled by moronic actions by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s office.
On June 27, Ducey issued an executive order closing all gyms, fitness centers, bars, nightclubs, waterparks, river tubing operations, live theaters and movie theaters.
Sorry, Ducey called it “pausing Arizona’s reopening” not “closing” and certainly not “arbitrarily closing all bars statewide because a two-minute video of a packed Scottsdale nightclub aired on Phoenix television embarrassed me in front of reporters and doomed my 2022 senate election chances,” which is the realpolitik of his decision.
More than 92 bars, several gyms and bar landlords are suing the governor for this unilateral action — sorry, “pausing their non-litigation to force the governor to obey due process and state law.”
Likewise, the Arizona Department of Health Services laid out a seemingly simple grid for bars, gyms and schools to determine when they can open.
According to documents posted by the Arizona Governor’s Office — “Requirements for Bars and Nightclubs Not Operating as a Restaurant,” “Requirements for Restaurants and Bars Providing Dine-In Services,” “Requirements for Indoor Gyms and Fitness Clubs/Centers” and “ADHS Schools Toolkit” — these venues have to meet or exceed three benchmarks:
■ Decline in cases or less than 100 cases per 100,000 individuals for two consecutive weeks.
■ Two consecutive weeks with percent positivity below 7% for schools, below 10% for bars and gyms.
■ Two consecutive weeks with hospital visits for COVID-like illnesses in the region below 10%.
That all seems relatively simple, right?
Nope, not in Arizona. Here, in the Grand Canyon State, we prefer our governments make arbitrarily mathematical rules then use illogical and contradictory guidelines to calculate them. It’s like “math,” but spelled with a silent “G” …. Doesn’t make sense? Good we’re on the same page.
To wit: The benchmarks listed in the above-mentioned documents suggest venues calculate the percent positivity below 10% and schools below 7%.
Why 7%? Why 10%? Why not the same? Both 7% and 10% a is relative low bar and with Yavapai County averaging 300 tests a day, 30 or more positive cases means bars can’t open, 21 means schools can’t open. If several dozen healthy people get tested over several days, that number lowers, but the actual risk level in the community does not change. That makes this benchmark absurd.
Additionally, the “benchmark of two consecutive weeks with percent positivity” of 7% and 10% is listed in the documents as two weeks, not counting this week, which is still fluctuating.
Seems simple enough. So for this weekend, we should just check the two weeks between Aug. 2 and Aug. 15, right? Because those are the most current and accurate data points?
That shows percent positivity at 6% for both weeks in Yavapai County.
Nope. Ducey says we must check July 19 to Aug. 1. Two weeks before 12 days ago. Why 12 days?
Zodiac symbols? Numbers on a clock face? Disciples of Jesus? Number of years Ducey was CEO of Cold Stone Creamery before running for office? Who knows.
It means that if infections begin to skyrocket on Aug. 14, school closures wouldn’t be suggested until Sept. 3. Governor’s rules making you feel safe yet?
This confusion extends to our school boards. Many school officials have been confused by the general COVID-19 ADHS Data Dashboard that has been up for months, the school-specific ADHS Dashboard, the dates to use and which benchmarks to apply.
Compounding that, the school guidelines are “optional” according to state officials. They are not mandatory.
So school boards can open whenever they want, regardless of the benchmarks, which are just guidelines.
While school districts in Sedona and Cottonwood mistakenly think they legally can’t open, they can. In fact, Camp Verde Unified School District is opening Monday, Aug. 17, because officials read the guidelines correctly. Perhaps they can teach other boards how to read them.
Christopher Fox Graham
Managing Editor
