PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday received a letter signed by several Arizona mayors, urging him to declare a shelter-in-place order for our state.
"In acknowledgment of recent empirical findings that support social distancing as an effective mechanism by which to slow the spread of COVID-19, we as mayors representing millions of vulnerable Arizonans fervently urge Governor Ducey to issue a Stay-At-Home order for the state. We understand that public health officials in Arizona have already recommended the Governor issue a Stay-At-Home Arizona order immediately and we would like to know why the Governor has not followed that recommendation," according to the letter.
The mayors involved include those of Tolleson, Flagstaff, El Mirage, Phoenix, Tucson, Fountain Hills, Guadalupe, Winslow, and Superior.
"Arizona must not squander the opportunity to learn from the unfolding events in our sister states and immediately formalize a statewide Stay-At-Home order to ensure that we pursue every avenue to #flattenthecurve of this devastating pandemic," the letter reads.
The mayors are not the only ones who would like to see Ducey implement a shelter-in-place order. The Valley Interfaith Project sent him a similar letter.
"One hundred of the clergy of the Valley Interfaith Project, along with faith and congregational leaders throughout Arizona, urgently call on Governor Doug Ducey to issue a Stay-at-Home order for Arizona. The urgency is mounting by the hour. We call for a life-saving stay-at-home order today."
A representative from the Maricopa County Medical Society also sent a letter to Ducey to ask for a shelter-in-place order to protect medical professionals and the community.
“I am writing on behalf of Maricopa County Medical Society (MCMS) which has been representing, serving, and advocating for our members for the last 128 years, acting as a strong, collective physician voice. The COVID-19 pandemic obligates us to fulfill our missions: protecting the health of the community and supporting our patients’ rights and choices, while ensuring the professionalism, ethics, and quality of practice in medicine. The physicians of MCMS hereby beseech you to take the immediate action to protect the lives of our physician members and the lives of Arizona’s citizens, by issuing a Shelter-In-Place order as soon as possible.”
Ducey has defended his decision to hold off on such an order. "I want to do things in alignment for our situation in Arizona in real-time," he told Arizona's Family last week. "To date, we've been one step ahead of this. Each, each step along the way."
Television and radio broadcasters from around Arizona announced Monday that they will be joining together to air a town hall conversation with Governor Ducey on Thursday night around 6 p.m., April 2.
"We're following CDC guidance so all of my decisions have been guided by public health," Ducey said.
