Native Pat Kieny
Owner Pat Kieny said the governor's executive order will only have minimal impact at Native Grill & Wings. File photo

Gov. Doug Ducey’s rollback on Friday of occupancy limits on restaurants and other businesses will have limited impact at one popular Maricopa eatery.

The order removes the specific percentage occupancy requirements issued by the Arizona Department of Health Services for businesses, including restaurants, bars and nightclubs, indoor gyms and fitness centers, indoor theaters, and water parks.

Acknowledging that COVID-19 continues to spread in the state, the order does not lift other mitigation requirements, including physical distancing and mask wearing.

In addition, the order permits “Spring Training and other professional sports” to work directly with ADHS on reopening plans instead of local governments. All other organized public events with 50 or more people will continue to be reviewed and approved by local authorities.

Ducey’s action won’t make much of an impact at Native Grill & Wings, with social distancing rules still in effect.

“As long as we’re continuing the six-foot social distancing, we just can’t open up all of our tables,” said owner Pat Kieny. “It isn’t going to change things dramatically.”

For Native, he said the order provides an opportunity for “easing us back into it.”

Kieny said once Texas and Mississippi eliminated their mask mandates earlier this week, he figured changes were coming to Arizona in short order.

Ahead of the governor’s move, Kieny was working on the installation of plexiglass dividers at about a half-dozen booths to put those tables back into service. The dividers will be installed Saturday.

Even with those additional tables, the restaurant’s effective capacity is around 50 percent, about 12-or-so tables short of full capacity, he said. He said rescinding of the occupancy permits will have more of an impact at supermarkets and department stores.

“So, it’s good,” he added of the change. “The hope is the (COVID case) numbers stay down. Hopefully, we are working toward no masks and no social distancing.”

‘NOT IN THE CLEAR YET’

In a Facebook post, Ducey said Arizona, like other states, has come out of the winter surge of COVID cases.

“And we are leading the nation in the vaccination rollout,” he said. “Our mitigation strategies have been targeted and data driven. Our latest guidance continues that approach.

“We are not in the clear yet. We need to continue practicing personal responsibility. Wear a mask. Physically distance,” he added. “With the vaccine rollout advancing rapidly, we continue to have hope for the future.”

On Wednesday, the state House of Representatives approved a measure that would permit businesses to enforce, or not, any mask mandate imposed by state, county or local politicians. The vote was divided by party line, with all 31 Republican members voting in favor of the bill, which now moves to the state Senate for consideration.

There were 2,276 new coronavirus cases in the state as of Friday, with 84 new deaths, according to the ADHS data dashboard. According to the Public Health Department, 140 of those cases and three of those deaths in Pinal County.

In recent days, the Republican governors Greg Abbott of Texas and Tate Reeves said they were rescinding mask mandates in their states.

While saying “we are still urging people to continue to wear the mask” and practice social distancing, Abbott added that Texans “no longer need government running our lives.” He tweeted that all businesses are “OPEN 100%. EVERYTHING.”

In response, public health experts in those states urged residents to continue wearing their masks and practicing physical distancing.

In response to the announcements by Abbott and Reeves, President Joe Biden blasted the governors for their “Neanderthal thinking.”

Democratic-controlled states also have moved recently to tamper restrictions. California is allowing indoor dining in a number of counties and stadiums can host concerts in New York.