Pima County reinstates indoor mask mandate

Pima County leaders reinstated a countywide indoor mask mandate Tuesday as COVID-19 rates persist at high levels and in anticipation of a spike from the more contagious omicron variant.

The governor has already reiterated that Arizona doesn’t allow mask mandates and that businesses by law don’t have to enforce them.

The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to require people to wear masks indoors in public when they can’t distance by six feet. However, the county hasn’t specified plans to enforce it and views it as more of an educational tool.

The resolution is effective immediately and will last at least through the end of February.

“The public should view today’s vote as a rally cry for everyone in our community to take a simple and benign action that will go a long way to protect themselves and their community from the spread of a deadly disease,” Supervisor Dr. Matt Heinz said in a written statement.

“Masks work if everyone wears them. So please wear one and help our community slow and stop the spread of COVID-19.”

Gov. Doug Ducey prior to the vote took to Twitter to emphasize that there are no mask mandates in Arizona.

“Remember that when the Pima County Board of Supervisors takes up the issue. Local jurisdictions did not enforce the mask mandates they imposed, putting an unfair burden on businesses,” he wrote.

Ducey in April signed a bill that said businesses are not required to enforce mask mandates established by a city, town or county. Businesses can choose to require masks, but cannot be made to enforce that they’re worn.

“Rest assured, this law will not change,” Ducey wrote. “If you want to wear a mask, please do so. We believe wearing a mask is a personal choice.”

County votes narrowly for mandate

County officials pointed to high case rates, test positivity and hospitalizations as a reason for their decision. In November, the county reported over 15,800 COVID-19 cases, compared to about 13,900 in November 2020, according to Acting County Administrator Jan Lesher.

For the second month in a row, ICU capacity is “extremely constrained” across the county, with fewer than 5% of adult ICU beds available for more than 50 straight days, per the county.

Pima County’s level of community transmission is high, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC as a result recommends everyone wear a mask in public indoor settings.

Although state law makes it hard for the county to enforce the mask mandate, it can still be a “call to arms” for the community, Lesher told the board. She compared the mask mandate to seatbelt laws.

“People don’t necessarily stop an individual to check on their seatbelt, but we do know that having it be a law has done considerably towards encouraging the use of seatbelts,” she said during the Tuesday meeting. “Our hope again is that this will encourage people to be masked during this very difficult time, without the penalties.”

Supervisors Steve Christy and Rex Scott voted against the mask requirement.

Christy said it didn’t make sense to have a mask requirement with no enforcement and he didn’t see how a mandate could be an educational tool. Credibility and legitimacy are removed when the county has a mandate but no enforcement, he said during the meeting.

Scott said masks have unfortunately become so politicized and it would land on businesses to enforce the requirement, something he’s not willing to ask workers to deal with given the intense rhetoric around masks.

“Universal indoor masking: If there were any certainty that a mask mandate imposed by this Board of Supervisors would achieve that result, I would vote for it in an instant,” Scott told fellow supervisors.

“Although I firmly believe that each of us should be wearing masks when we are in group settings, I’m certain that a sizable number of Pima County residents will defy or ignore any mandate we may enact today,” and it will fall to businesses to deal, he said.

Supervisor Adelita Grijalva voted for the requirement and said she’s baffled as to why masks have become so polarizing. Fewer people are wearing mask, and this is a critical time, she said. Grijalva added that she hoped “the city” (Tucson) would join the county.

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero wrote on Twitter that she supports the county’s mask mandate to help prevent strain on hospitals and protect the health of workers as the holidays approach.

Pima County previously had a mask requirement in place from June 2020 to May 2021.