He is passing the buck.
AZ governor Ducey has been hammered in the press, by health professionals and mayors for not mandating masks. Earlier in May he decreed that cities could not mandate striker requirements than the state, so cities could not require mask since the state government did not require them.
Well, we have horrible covid numbers in AZ and people are very upset with our Governor. So instead of mandating masks, he has changed his rule and now will allow cities to require masks if they so choose.
That is passing the buck.
Now the mayors and city councils will need to decide.
Please Phoenix, mandate the masks so the Trump rally coming soon will NEED them. Please. I want to see them required at his rally. For lots of reasons.
Kind of literal, but don't hold your breath.
They're making people sign up online for the rallies, and they make them check a waiver that says they won't sue if they get sick.
All of this is part of the larger plan to undermine democracy and our upcoming election. They're willing to sacrifice some of their voters to COVID if it means they can also suppress millions of votes against them.
Here in San Diego, NO ONE is wearing masks out of doors at all unless, like me, they are high risk. There is lip service to social distancing, no enforcement. The governor is getting ready to rein in L.A. because they've had an uptick in hospitalizations, I think he should put the whole state back to phase 1, and implement mandatory quarantines for out of state and foreign visitors.
Chinese airlines are allowed to fly one roundtrip per day in/out of L.A. and San Francisco now. China has less cases than we do of COVID, but it's almost like they want to jump start the next flu season. I can't fathom why anyone would want to travel here right now. Now is not the time for international travel. New Zealand, which was free and clear for 24 days, made the mistake of reopening to tourism. 2 travelers from the UK arrived in NZ sick and now they have to go back to strict measures before it spreads beyond the flight and the airport.
The Gila River Indian Nation operates 3 casinos in Arizona and they reopened in May when the rest of the state of Arizona opened back. While other casinos required face masks, the only encouraged the use of a mask. Recently one of their security guards died of covid and it is suspected other employees have the virus too. They are now closing for 2 weeks.
In other AZ covid news, a county sheriff who refused to enforce the stay at home order when we had one has now tested positive for the disease. He was asymptomatic and was tested because he was part of a coalition who was supposed to meet with Trump this passed Tuesday. It is believed he got the virus at an reelection event on June 14th where he was seen interacting with people. No one was wearing a mask at the event.
Our state has just been named the worst amongst states with Covid19. Kansas is requiring people arriving from Arizona to quarantine for 14 days if they come to their state.
Brazil has reported 1 million confirmed cases.
Brazil has now reported more than 1 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and 48,954 deaths, marking a grim milestone for the South American country.
The health ministry on Friday reported 54,771 new cases, a record daily spike that brought the nationwide total to 1,032,913.
So sad, like us they have their own T who is making matters worse.
Also, Florida is looking to be the next epicenter
Florida reported 3,207 additional coronavirus cases on Thursday -- the largest single-day count in the state since the pandemic, according to the state health department. Florida's total reported cases climbed to nearly 86,000, according to data.
The Sunshine State has "all the markings of the next large epicenter of coronavirus transmission," and risks being the "worst it has ever been," according to projections from a model by scientists at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/06/18/us/us-coronavirus-thursday/index.html
Last year I sensed there would be a major pandemic at some point by 2030. I thought about where in the US would be worst hit, and NYC (check) and Florida came to mind. I guess now I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Gov. Cuomo is considering quarantining anyone traveling from Florida to NY. I think he should, and not just Florida.
https://abc7ny.com/florida-coronavirus-quarantine-new-york-reopen-ny/6257791/
He should and Az should also be included.
I've already emailed Gov. Newsom about implementing a quarantine for anyone coming from anywhere out of state, domestic or international. He re-implemented statewide masking regs within 2 days of my last email, so fingers crossed!
Meanwhile - we've discussed here the importance of the "R-naught" or R0 number - it represents the number of people each infected person infects. Ideally it should be R0, meaning no one gets infected by an already infected person. In a pandemic, you at least want to keep it below R1. Right now, CA is at about R1.04, AZ is at R1.24, and FL is at R1.37, and all are increasing.
Here's a great way to look at each state for R0: Rt Effective Reproduction Numbers