'Time is right to move forward': Ducey ends COVID-19 public health emergency in Arizona

The emergency declaration that allowed Gov. Doug Ducey to take extraordinary measures during the COVID-19 pandemic in Arizona, from mandating hospital data reporting to closing businesses, is over.

The governor first declared a state of public health emergency on March 11, 2020, when there were just nine cases of the coronavirus in the state of over 7 million.

On Wednesday, just over two years later, he ended it.

"Thanks to the hard work of many — health care workers, businesses, public and private sector employees — COVID-19 is no longer an emergency in Arizona,” Ducey said in a statement. “This virus isn’t completely gone, but because of the vaccine and other life-saving measures, today we are better positioned to manage and mitigate it."

The Ducey administration had discussed ending the emergency for months, but wanted to see temporary licenses granted to over 2,000 public health workers extended before doing so. The Legislature quickly passed Senate Bill 1309 extending those licenses to Jan. 1, 2023, which Ducey signed into law last week.

Maricopa County also ended the county’s emergency declaration Wednesday. Board of Supervisors Chairman Bill Gates said in a statement he was proud of the work that county staff did during the emergency to provide services and federal funds to the community.     

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Even as cases decrease and many Arizonans return to a life that resembles pre-pandemic days, the scars of the once-novel virus remain.

Arizona has the third-highest death rate from COVID-19 in the country, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data that includes New York City. Only one other state, Mississippi, ranked higher than Arizona.

The governor's handling of the pandemic has prompted criticism from all sides, with some saying he should not have closed businesses and others blasting him for reopening them too quickly. Even as he encouraged Arizonans to get the vaccine, Ducey stopped short of requiring it, a stance in line with Republican governors around the nation.

"COVID-19 challenged us in ways we never could’ve imagined," the governor's statement reads. "No corner of our state — no corner of our country or the world — was spared. But we met that challenge head on by prioritizing lives, livelihoods and individual liberties. The time is right to move forward.”

ICU beds with fewer COVID-19 patients

COVID-19 spikes that filled hospitals with patients seemingly have abated from their peak. Intensive care unit beds that peaked at 63% full with COVID-19 patients in January 2021 were just 7% full this week, according to state health data.

New COVID-19 cases reported last week were just above 2,000, compared to over 151,000 in the second week of January as the omicron variant of the virus swept the nation.

Ending the emergency doesn't affect the state's or counties' ability to respond to some of the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, like distributing federal funding from the Democrat-backed American Rescue Plan Act to address homelessness and housing issues and boost employment.

While the emergency is now over, at least in name, state officials warned that COVID-19 will remain in the Grand Canyon State.

"COVID-19 is by no means completely through with us, however, and it’s reasonable to expect we will see increases in cases at times as the virus mutates to survive,” Dr. Richard Carmona, a former surgeon general and public health adviser to Ducey, said in a statement.

“We now have the experience and tools in place to address what may be to come while public health continues doing what we do best: infectious disease surveillance, prevention and control.” 

Reporter Jen Fifield contributed to this story.

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669. Follow her on Twitter @sbarchenger.

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