Trump and Birx praise Arizona as new national model for battling coronavirus pandemic

PHOENIX – For nearly a month, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey has warned against taking any "victory laps" over declines in the state's COVID-19 metrics, arguing the gradual improvements are "not cause for celebration."  

The White House may not have gotten the memo.

Throughout the governor's Wednesday visit to Washington, D.C., senior officials held up Arizona as a leader in COVID-19 containment measures, with President Donald Trump saying Ducey had "done an incredible job" controlling the virus. 

"He was hit very hard, and he hit back even harder," Trump said of the governor's leadership, as the pair took questions from reporters after a private discussion Wednesday afternoon.

"You've done a fantastic job. We're very proud of you. We love the people of Arizona, and they are very proud of the job you've done also, Doug," Trump said.

Dr. Deborah Birx, U.S. coronavirus task force coordinator, also said Ducey "did a great job putting these pieces together and really creating that path forward."

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During a call with reporters earlier in the day, she had deemed Arizona a model for the rest of the nation, saying Ducey had shown other states it was possible to safely "keep most of the economy open" while having residents "continue to use masks, continue to social distance, continue to not gather together in large groups."

"We're very encouraged by what's happened in Phoenix and Tucson," she said.

Mask mandates, new closures followed dramatic spike in cases

Indeed, Arizona has seen drops in daily COVID-19 caseloads, hospitalization rates and positive test results over the last month, after Ducey shuttered bars and gyms and local governments imposed mask mandates.

But those moves came after caseloads spiraled out of control in June – ultimately producing one of the worst outbreaks in the world – not before.

Despite the advice of epidemiologists, Ducey lifted stay-at-home restrictions in mid-May and encouraged Arizonans to patronize their favorite businesses, saying the state was "clearly on the other side of this pandemic." At the time, Trump was encouraging state leaders to "free" their residents from lockdowns.

The Arizona Democratic Party took issue with the narrative Ducey and Trump presented during their question-and-answer session on Wednesday.

The party wrote on Twitter that the pair "just patted themselves on the back for their half-measures addressing the pandemic in AZ, but the reality is their efforts were too little, too late."

Ducey acknowledged the state had "had a very difficult June" but said it had "seen improvement every week, week over week, for four weeks." He credited Arizonans with "embracing" public health recommendations and making "good decisions."

As of Wednesday, the state had more than 182,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and nearly 4,000 known deaths. 

"We're going to keep our guard up," he said. 

Birx: Arizona a national model

Birx described Arizona as a test case for the federal government's new series of mitigation strategies, which include local mask mandates, limited restaurant service, bar closures and limiting social gatherings. 

She applauded Ducey for being "willing to be the first example of how to move forward together," saying he had proved their "theoretical" plan could work. 

"We’ve taken that model all the way across the South and up into Tennessee and Kentucky and Ohio and Indiana," she told the president on Wednesday afternoon.

"We’ll be going to six states in the heartland next week, because we think this is a way to really decrease cases, decrease hospitalizations, decrease mortality while still keeping things safe through this common-sense approach."

Ducey, for his part, said he was grateful Trump had ensured Arizona received personal protective equipment, hospital staff and a shipment of the antiviral treatment remdesivir.

He also mentioned relief funding for tribal nations, and the two surge testing sites the federal government set up in Maryvale and south Phoenix after residents reported wait times of 13-plus hours.

The governor said the state in recent weeks had improved both testing accessibility and turnaround times for results, which at times last month were averaging nine to 12 days. 

"That’s fantastic," Trump said. "Wow. Proud of you. That's a great success."

Ducey thanked him but said there was "more to do." 

"We like the trajectory, and we’re going to keep pressing," he said.

Follow Maria Polletta on Twitter @mpolletta.