Following social distancing guidelines strongly encouraged
SHOW LOW, Ariz. (June 19, 2020) – On June 17, 2020 Governor Ducey issued Executive Order 2020-40 on containing the spread of COVID-19. This order allows a city, town or county, based on local conditions, to mandate the wearing of face coverings in public to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Due to a recent surge in cases, Arizona has the highest per capita rate of new cases in the United States. Navajo County is the second highest county in Arizona in per capita cases. This has caused a surge in cases in our local area and put a strain on our healthcare system. We urge all residents and businesses in the strongest terms possible to follow the guidelines from the Governor as outlined in his requirements for businesses, including requiring face coverings when physical distancing is not feasible and to implement and enforce a policy for use of face coverings by employees and customers. Those with qualifying medical conditions may be exempt. In essence, we are asking our local citizens and businesses to step up their game and voluntarily follow the requirements of the order. The Navajo County Health Department is responsible for ensuring that restaurants, bars, hotels and stores that sell pre-packaged food follow these requirements. The Navajo County Health Department will be working with our local establishments, providing education and technical assistance during their transition to comply with the new Executive Order.
Everyone should continue to follow social distancing guidelines, wash and sanitize your hands regularly, avoid touching your face, stay home if you are sick and don’t feel well and other requirements in the Governor’s order. If we are vigilant, then we can slow and contain the spread of COVID-19. If we do not take the order and requirements seriously, then this may lead to further orders from the Governor that may shut down businesses or a mandate from our local cities, towns or county to wear masks. We ask all to make the effort to follow the requirements put in place by the Governor’s order, which can be found at https://azgovernor.gov/governor/news/2020/06/governor-ducey-announces-enhanced-covid-19-action-plan.