Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey talks with the media at Wednesday afternoon's news conference. Image via YouTube.

Many Arizona residents are asking, “When will the coronavirus restrictions end?”

Gov. Doug Ducey said Wednesday he gets the question all the time.

“The answer is, that’s not on the horizon,” he said during his first news conference in weeks. “Arizona and our nation remain in a public health emergency, and getting back to normal isn’t in the cards, right now.”

“There is a concerning increase” in coronavirus cases, positivity rates and hospital visits due to COVID-like illness, said Dr. Cara Christ, director of the state Department of Health Services. The numbers have been trending higher for several weeks, they said.

On Wednesday, 3,206 new cases were reported in Arizona, with 53 new deaths. The state positivity rate is 9.7%. In Pinal County, 218 new cases were reported Wednesday, with seven new deaths and a positivity rate of 8.5%. The numbers are skyrocketing nationally as well.

“These metrics are heading in the opposite direction,” she emphasized.

Public health officials nationwide are greatly concerned that the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday and family gatherings will spread the virus in greater numbers.

Ducey and Christ shared that level of concern, urging Arizonans to use “pure common sense” in their holiday planning by following public health guidelines, including wearing masks, washing hands often, moving celebrations outside, reducing the size of gatherings inside the home, physical distancing and celebrating with high-risk loved ones virtually.

“I want people to wear masks,” he said. “Masks work. Please wear them. They are required,” adding that 90% of the state is under local mask mandates. “And, by and large, people have been following those mandates.”

Christ said it is now clear that masks also protect the wearer. They should be worn in every setting, including indoor and outdoor gatherings, she urged.

“Arizonans have been good at following the guidance,” Ducey said. “But Arizonans aren’t the only ones here anymore. We have thousands of people arriving from the Midwest and East Coast and elsewhere.”

Ducey said the state is amplifying its public health messaging to ensure every individual in the state knows which steps to take to protect themselves and loved ones.

More specific targeted testing is needed as snowbirds and holiday visitors travel to the state, he said. To that end, he has directed Christ to establish on-premises testing sites at Phoenix Sky Harbor, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway and Tucson International airports that can deliver quick turnaround of results.

He said Christ will be moving on the initiative immediately.

Christ also said the department is anticipating getting the vaccine by the start of the new year.

Priority will go to health care workers, first responders, nursing home employees and at-risk populations, she said.

“Arizona will be prepared” for vaccine distribution, Ducey said. He said was issuing an executive order to ensure that the state will track individuals’ vaccine information to ensure effectiveness.

Vaccines may require a double dose and it is important that the second dose is the same type as the first dose and received at the proper time, Christ said.