Ducey Praised By Trump For Coronavirus Response In Arizona

ARIZONA — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey drew praise from President Donald Trump Wednesday in Washington, D.C., for his coronavirus response. The two leaders met at the White House, along with Dr. Deborah Birx, to discuss the state’s declining number of new coronavirus cases and deaths.

During the Oval Office meeting, Ducey thanked the Trump administration, and specifically Birx, a leading member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, for aiding Arizona when its cases began to surge following the state’s reopening in May. The White House provided the state and Navajo Nation with personal protective equipment, doctors, and more testing capabilities to fight the virus, Trump said.

"We sat down with Dr. Birx and the coronavirus task force and talked about mitigation steps," the governor said. "Upon putting those steps out there, we've seen improvement every week, week-over-week, for four weeks."

Those steps included increased testing, the closure of bars, gyms and places where the virus can easily spread, and face mask requirements throughout much of the state. Gyms must be given the opportunity to reopen once more this week, a judge ordered Tuesday.

Birx said the common-sense approach to the virus used in Arizona is a model the task force has taken to other hard-hit Southern states, including Tennessee and Kentucky.

The president praised Ducey for his efforts to mitigate the disease while still keeping the economy open.

“He was hit very hard, and he hit back even harder,” Trump said of Ducey’s response to the coronavirus surge in Arizona. Later Wednesday in his daily coronavirus briefing, Trump highlighted what he called Arizona's "great record" on the coronavirus.

Arizona reported 1,698 new coronavirus cases and 87 more deaths on Wednesday. That brings the state’s totals of cases and deaths to 182,203 and 3,932, respectively. Hospitalizations and ventilator use are also down from their peak in June.

But despite the leveling off of new cases, Ducey acknowledged that Arizona is not out of the woods just yet.

“We’re going to keep our guard up, we’re going to stay vigilant,” he said. “There’s a real path forward and a common sense approach we can apply in Arizona.”