Virus surge in Arizona puts focus on governor

Leader has resisted restrictive measures as state becomes ‘hot spot of the world’

PHOENIX — As Arizona experienced periodic spikes in COVID-19 cases after the spring, Gov. Doug Ducey frequently resisted calls to take strong measures. He declined to institute a statewide mask mandate, allowed school districts to mostly make their own choices and allowed businesses to stay open.

All of those choices by the Republican governor are now getting renewed scrutiny as the Grand Canyon state becomes what health officials call the latest “hot spot of the world” because of soaring caseloads.

“We have a governor and health director who don’t care. Their goal in my opinion is to vaccinate their way out of this,” said Will Humble, head of the

Arizona Public Health Association “Eventually it will work. There’s just going to be a lot of dead people in the meantime.”

C.J. Karamargin, the governor’s spokesman, said the current number of cases and deaths are “heartbreaking” but it’s a phenomenon happening in other states even with strict stayat-home orders.

“Faced with strict mitigation measures in place and states that have few or minimal mitigation measures in place all are experiencing the same thing,” Karamargin said. “The mitigation measures the state of Arizona put into place early on — they remain in place. We urge every Arizonan to follow them.”

At the same time, the state is working to ramp up vaccination distribution efforts, Karamargin added. More than 119,000 people in Arizona have received the vaccine, state health officials said Wednesday. That is less than 2 percent of the state’s population. Nationally, as of Wednesday, more than three weeks into the U.S. vaccination campaign, 5.3 million people had gotten their first dose.

Liz Curren, 34, of Phoenix has been watching over her husband, Russell, 37, since he became infected with the virus more than a week ago. His symptoms have included severe body aches, chills and pain in his lungs and kidneys. The couple and four other relatives gathered at Christmas but took every precaution like wearing masks. Yet, Russell Curren and three others ended up later testing positive. Liz Curren has tested negative three times.

“I absolutely think there’s more or there should be more done,” Liz Curren said, reflecting on the jump in cases. “Whatever’s being done is not working. I don’t feel like clubs and bars and gyms should be open.”

Arizona health officials on Wednesday reported a triple-digit number of new virus-related deaths for the second day in a row and more than 7,200 daily cases, with hospitals strained by a record number of patients.

Arizona has the worst coronavirus diagnosis rate in the country, with one out of every 119 people in the state testing positive in the past week, health officials said.

Just five months ago, President Donald Trump hailed Arizona as a model for how it dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic. In Arizona, indoor dining is allowed and gyms are open at limited capacity, businesses that have been more restricted in many other states.

Ducey rejected calls from health care leaders to tighten restrictions, arguing it would cause people to be out of work. He also dismissed a proposal to have all public schools go to virtual learning for two weeks after the holidays.

In recent days, the numbers have skyrocketed.

“It’s way worse than July already, and it’s going to continue to get worse. We’re probably two weeks behind L.A. in terms of our situation,” said Humble, referring to Los Angeles County, where a COVID-19 surge has created a shortage of oxygen and led ambulance crews to stop transporting patients they can’t revive in the field.