ARIZONA, USA — The Arizona Department of Health Services released benchmarks for business to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic Monday afternoon.
AZDHS focused on the status of the virus is in specific counties to advise when businesses that were paused by executive orders, such as gyms, theaters, water parks, and bars/nightclubs, can re-open in the benchmarks released Monday.
The benchmarks mirrored those that were released last week for schools across the state, with some differences.
The benchmarks for businesses, for instance, do not recommend waiting until positivity is under 7% or until cases have been declining for a two-week period before reopening, as the benchmarks for schools did.
The descriptions of substantial, moderate, and minimal labels regarding counties remained the same at over greater than 10% positivity, 5 to 10% positivity, and under 5% positivity respectively.
When a county is labeled as substantial, no gyms, theaters, water parks, or bars/nightclubs can open. But once case numbers move into the moderate and minimal categories, they can submit an attestation to reopen.
As a county moves into moderate, businesses begin to get the clear to reopen. Specifically, indoor gyms and fitness centers can re-open at 25% capacity, indoor theaters and water parks can reopen at 50%, and bars/nightclubs that provide dine-in service can reopen at 50% capacity (given that they have converted to restaurant service per AZDHS requirements).
If bars/nightclubs haven’t converted to restaurant service, they will not be able to reopen when their county is moderate.
When county cases drop into the minimal category, indoor gyms, indoor theaters, water parks, and bars/nightclubs that have converted to restaurant service will be able to reopen at 50% capacity.
When cases in a county drop under 3% positivity, bars/nightclubs can reopen at 50% at full bar/nightclub operations.
More of the specifics on reopening can be found in the gallery below:
Business-specific benchmark requirements for reopening amid COVID-19 pandemic
The department also wanted to make it clear to potential patrons on the risks, as well as tips to stay safe, if they choose to go to these businesses.
