Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey Thursday rescinded three Executive Orders issued during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic:
“With nearly three and a half million vaccine doses administered across Arizona, we’re on track to fighting off the pandemic and returning to normal,” said Governor Ducey. “At the beginning of the pandemic, we took necessary measures to protect vulnerable populations and all Arizonans. Now the vaccine is out far and wide, and we have much better knowledge of the virus than we did before. I’m grateful to the hospitals, medical professionals and long-term care facilities that prioritized Arizonans’ safety, and I’m looking forward to scaling back on measures that are no longer needed.”
The Governor rescinded the following Executive Orders:
Governor Ducey issued Executive Order 2020-10 on March 19, 2020 to temporarily halt non-essential or elective surgeries. On April 22, 2020, he issued an order resuming elective surgeries if certain criteria were met. With cases continuing to decline, today’s order provides hospitals with the flexibility to conduct elective surgeries.
The Governor issued Executive Order 2020-22 on April 7 to protect long-term care facility residents. Early in the pandemic, the state acted on the best available science and federal recommendations to institute rules to protect vulnerable residents of long-term care facilities. With vaccination efforts well underway, new guidelines from federal partners, and the input of the Arizona Task Force on Long-Term Care, Arizona is now able to roll back some of those limitations and help facilitate additional visitation as well as off-site visits for long-term care residents without the need for quarantine upon return.