Coronavirus cases in Arizona dropped 75% after mask orders began, CDC reports

Coronavirus cases in Arizona dropped 75% after mask orders began, CDC reports COVID-19 cases in Arizona spiked 151% after a statewide stay-at-home order expired and dropped 75% after local mask mandates, a new report says. YahooNews

PHOENIX – COVID-19 cases in Arizona spiked 151% after a statewide stay-at-home order expired and dropped 75% after local mask mandates, a new report says.

The report, published this week by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was written by officials with the Arizona Department of Health Services, including director Dr. Cara Christ.

A stay-at-home order in Arizona expired May 15 and two weeks later – between June 1 and June 15 – the daily average number of COVID-19 cases jumped by 151%, the report says. The incubation period for a person exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus to develop COVID-19 is about two days to two weeks.

The spike in cases ended up overwhelming the state's health care system with a surge of extremely ill COVID-19 patients needing care.

On June 6, as COVID-19 hospitalizations in Arizona climbed, Christ sent a letter to hospitals in the state urging them to "fully activate" their emergency plans.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Arizona peaked between June 29 and July 2, stabilized between July 3 and July 12, and declined by about 75% between July 13 and August 7, the report says.

"Mitigation measures, including mask mandates, that are implemented and enforced statewide appear to have been effective in decreasing the spread of COVID-19 in Arizona," the report says.

What the report doesn't make clear is that local jurisdictions were prevented by Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey from imposing mask requirements until June 17, when the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 was already aggressively spreading throughout the state. Arizona does not have a statewide mask mandate. ...