Governor re-closes some businesses, delays start of school year

Jun 29, 2020

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gov 062920 — Gov. Doug Ducey talks to the press Monday.

Bars, gyms and movie theaters will be shutting down again, and school kids will have more weeks of vacation.

Gov. Doug Ducey announced today all Arizona on-campus schools will be out of session until at least Aug. 17, which he described as a target date.

Maricopa Unified School District will discuss what all that means in a special meeting tonight. The meeting was already planned specifically to talk about delaying the start of school after July 23.

Starting at 8 p.m. today, bars, gyms, theaters and water parks must close, according to the gubernatorial order. Ducey said they would be closed for a month, again aspirational timing.

As he did during last week’s briefing, Ducey emphasized the state is heading in the wrong direction in its COVID-19 case trends.

The number of confirmed local cases of the virus has climbed to more than 300. Maricopa ZIP code 85138 now has had 241 cases, and ZIP code 85139 has had 112.

Statewide, cases now total 74,533, with 3,382 deaths. Pinal County Health Services is reporting 3,417 cases and 63 related deaths.

“If you don’t need to go out, don’t go out,” Ducey said.

His order also prohibits any gatherings of 50 or more people. Public pools can have no more than 10 people in or near the pool.

On Monday night, the City of Maricopa announced the Copper Sky Multigenerational Complex will close for at least 30 days in response to the governor’s executive order. Members will not be billed for services for July. Additional information will be sent at a later date to members about the impact of the closure.

Open swim at the aquatic center will also be closed for at least 30 days in response to the specific stipulations included in Ducey’s executive order in regard to public pools.

“To adhere to the safety standards of operating open swim and the prohibitions in the Executive Order, unfortunately closing open swim at Copper Sky for the next 30 days is the best way to protect residents and staff both inside and outside of the pool,” said Community Services Director Nathan Ullyot in a news release.

The swimming pools at Copper Sky were among the City’s earliest casualties to COVID-19 mitigation measures. As of May 30, the competition and leisure pools, water slide and climbing wall had reopened.