The world reacted to a number of new coronavirus cases across Arizona and the country this past week.
People were urged to practice social distancing in hopes of mitigating the further spread of the disease. Events and concerts were canceled, universities moved classes online, employees hunkered down to work from home and all Arizona schools were instructed to close beginning Monday.
However, some Phoenix-area residents disregarded the Centers for Disease Control's social distancing recommendation over the weekend. Instead of staying home, they headed outside to enjoy brunch with friends or shop at a local farmers market.
"I think a lot of people are scared," Queen Creek resident Ilen Arevalo said. "Then again, if you wash your hands every day, you're clean and you're healthy, then you shouldn't have a problem."
Arevalo spent her Sunday afternoon in Scottsdale's entertainment district. She described it as "a ghost town" Sunday afternoon, which she said likely could be attributed to coronavirus concerns.
Gabby Wagner of Chandler and Francisco Ruiz of Mesa also noted that the district was quieter than normal.
"People are afraid to leave their house, let alone come to brunch," said Wagner. She explained that the pair had brunch at Bevvy and then planned to mingle at other bars in the area.
Bevvy General Manager Cameron Byram said the business was steady despite some choosing to stay home amid coronavirus concerns. The company has since implemented preventative measures, including making employees who go near food wear gloves, cleaning and sanitizing, and keeping soap and paper towels stocked.
"I'm actually going through double the paper towels and double the soap, which means people are actually being attentive and smart about washing their hands," he said. "Which makes me happy and makes me feel better as a human being."
While neither Wagner nor Ruiz were afraid of contracting COVID-19, they said they were mostly worried about how people were reacting to the disease, specifically panic-shopping, and possible closures that could affect the economy.
The pair said they would not make a stop at Riot House or El Hefe on Sunday because a Riot House employee with a "communicable disease" briefly visited two nightclubs in the area earlier this month. A professional cleaning company has since cleaned Riot House and El Hefe, a company spokesperson previously said.
"After the news broke there, I think people are probably staying clear of those places right now," said Ruiz.
Both restaurants remained open Sunday. Riot House looked relatively empty shortly after noon, while El Hefe had a handful of customers. "Our customers have been amazing," spokeswoman Lissa Druss told The Arizona Republic. "We took precautions out of an abundance of caution and are now in uncharted waters. We want to make one thing perfectly clear: There is nothing more important than the health and safety of our employees and our customers.”
Some head outside in search of 'social distance'
Parking lots at popular hiking spots Piestewa Peak and Papago Park were packed with cars most of Sunday afternoon.
Gail and Scott Currier, of Olivehurst, California, took a hike at South Mountain Park and Preserve in Phoenix because it appeared to be less crowded.
"I'm 70 and he's close to being 70," Gail said when asked why they were avoiding crowds. "A month ago I had pneumonia, so I could be more susceptible to the coronavirus for sure."
The Curriers were being cautious during their travels to Arizona and Las Vegas to visit family. They avoided crowded restaurants by eating in their car and not shaking hands with people.
Pima County Health Department Director Bob England said people can still live their lives so long as they "use common sense" and wash their hands. He added that being outdoors was less risky for droplet spread than being indoors.
"I'm borderline in the higher risk myself — I'm in my 60s and I've had asthma all my life — so I'm probably not going to go partying... I'm gonna be doing less interaction, but I'm not gonna drop it completely," he said. "If there's an outdoor art fair or something going on, I'm still fine with that."
A third person in Pima County was identified by county health officials on Sunday as having the new coronavirus, bringing Arizona's total to 13.
Health officials have encouraged people to adopt "social distancing" as a precautionary measure. Doing so can help stop coronavirus transmission by slowing the rate the infection spreads, which eases the burden on the health care system.
England explained it's one of the most effective ways to slow the spread.
"The whole point to all of this isn't to try to stop — it's to slow the transmission down so that everybody doesn't get sick all at once and overwhelm the healthcare system," he said.
Open businesses implementing extra precautions
On Saturday morning, the crowd was thick at a farmers market located on the southeast corner of Bethany Home Road and Central Avenue in Phoenix.
Uptown Farmers Market in Phoenix announced Friday in a statement posted to Instagram that the bi-weekly event would stay open to give food vendors the opportunity to sell and offer local food supply to the community.
“Many events have started canceling citing 'the responsible thing to do,'" organizers said in the statement. "Those events involve cars, books, sports, etc., and we are in full support of decreasing exposure in that way. However, we are a grocery store. Folks come to us for their food, their nourishment. In this way, we feel we are in the opposite position: That the responsible thing for us to do is to continue to remain open,” the statement said.
Tyler Boland, an employee for Garden Goddess, said the market was busier earlier than usual, with a line of people ready to enter when it opened at 8 a.m. He said the “rush” typically comes around 10 a.m., and he was already sold out of the majority of his stock of sauerkraut and the popular beet tonic by noon.
“It feels great to see all the customers coming at a time like this," Boland said. "This is why we need the farmers market."
Sue Mangu, a community resident and long-time attendee of the local farmers markets, said she was glad to see the market would still be open as many businesses throughout the Valley announce temporary closures.
“This would be my first choice,” Mangu said. “We have to keep our local people in business. They’re going to be the first ones to fall — the small businesses.”
Extra precautions were put in place, including “sanitation areas” with hand sanitizer, were set up on either side of the market. An attendant periodically sanitized the area.
“We hope our new sinks arrive before Saturday, but if they don't there will be next Saturday,” the statement from the market said.
Social aspects of the market, like sample tastings, community dining spaces and bounce houses, were temporarily postponed. Vendors were also instructed to stock “to go” containers, and wash their hands in between each transaction.
Uptown Farmers Market will remain open as long as allowed, organizers said. They're working to develop a system that will allow the market to continue serving the community in the event of a closure.
"some" - Google News
March 16, 2020 at 11:34AM
https://ift.tt/3d52SWY
In the shadow of coronavirus, some Arizonans head outside despite social distancing advice - AZCentral
"some" - Google News
https://ift.tt/37fuoxP
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "In the shadow of coronavirus, some Arizonans head outside despite social distancing advice - AZCentral"
Post a Comment