The state Department of Health Services reported another 4,123 new cases of COVID-19 Nov.19, marking the fifth highest daily report for Arizona since the pandemic began. The state is fast approaching 290,000 known cases of the virus since the start of the pandemic as the country surpassed 250,000 deaths due to the virus. Here in Arizona, more than 6,300 people have died from COVID-19.
Gov. Doug Ducey took a moment of silence for the dead during his press conference Nov. 18, but he did not reinstate stricter precautions that successfully eased spread earlier this year — precautions like business closures, which the governor implemented, and a statewide mask mandate, which he’s rejected from the beginning.
“We’ve got 90% of our state under local mask mandates, and we’ve seen a lot of success with it at the local level where there is local buy-in and local leadership," Ducey said. "And what I want to avoid is some of the division and politics that have happened around this issue.”
Those local officials that Ducey referenced are again calling on him to do more.
State Health Director Dr. Cara Christ has stood beside the governor as he’s encouraged Arizonans to take personal responsibility in the crisis.
While she has emphasized mask-wearing and urged people to limit Thanksgiving activities next week, some officials and public health experts have wondered why she has not advocated for even more.
The Show spoke with Dr. Christ, and asked her why, if we learned so much about the virus over the summer, cases are spiking again.
