Governor Doug Ducey today announced additional actions to contain the spread of COVID-19, including the signing of an Executive Order that requires restaurants with indoor seating to operate at less than 50 percent capacity. Today’s announcement to limit capacity at restaurants comes in addition to recent action taken by the Governor to prohibit large gatherings, cease the issuance of new special event licenses and pause the operations of bars, indoor gyms and fitness centers, movie theaters, waterparks and tubing rentals.
In addition, Governor Ducey and Arizona Department of Health Services Director Dr. Cara Christ announced new initiatives to boost staffing in underserved areas, get test results to Arizonans faster, and further enhance hospital staffing and capacity.
Partnering With The CDC And HHS To Offer Free COVID-19 Testing
Dr. Cara Christ announced a new partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to offer up to 5,000 free COVID-19 tests per day at sites in Maryvale and South Phoenix. This increase in testing includes 12 days of surge testing. Additional details on site locations will be announced.
Expanding Testing Partnership with ASU
The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) is partnering with Arizona State University to provide saliva-based COVID-19 testing to Arizonans. The first drive-through site will be offered on Saturday, July 11 in the West Valley. Individuals need to pre-register for an appointment. Additional sites and available dates will be added over the next couple of months. Through this partnership, ADHS has committed up to $12.7 million to fund the expansion of testing sites to serve up to 100,000 Arizonans. More details HERE.
Project Catapult To Increase Test Processing Capability
ADHS is also partnering with Sonora Quest Laboratories and Euroimmun/PerkinElmer to expand processing capabilities of COVID-19 diagnostic tests. Under this partnership, Sonora Quest expects to increase processing capacity to 35,000 diagnostic tests per day by the end of July, and up to 60,000 tests per day by the end of August. More details HERE.
Recently, the Governor’s Office worked with ADHS, the White House and HHS to procure an additional Roche testing machine for Sonora Quest Laboratories to further bolster testing in the state. The Roche testing machine helps expand testing throughout the state by delivering quick results and processing a high volume of patient samples.
Launching Staffing Initiative
Arizona will offer support to staff up to 20 percent of licensed beds and nursing resources for hospitals that participate in the Arizona Surge Line. The staffing will be administered by the Arizona Surge Line and applications are currently being accepted. As part of these efforts, Governor Ducey issued an Executive Order on enhanced surveillance. View the Executive Order HERE.
View the Governor’s Executive Order for restaurants HERE.
