The City of Phoenix voted 8-1 Wednesday night to continue the discussion about the State of Emergency in a Special Meeting Friday, March 20 at noon.
City Council made the decision, after the Formal Meeting, in a Special Meeting spanning three hours to receive legal advice in relation to Mayor Kate Gallego’s State of Emergency declaration.
Gallego declared the State of Emergency Tuesday after the count of Coronavirus cases in the state of Arizona rose to 21, according to Maricopa County Public Health.
Gallego also said she made the decision after discussing with business community groups, hospitals and local health care associations, including Infectious Diseases Society of America, to the Arizona Nurses Association.
“What they’ve told me is that, right now, they are preparing to treat people in tents because we don’t have enough beds, and that we expect doctors to have to make heartbreaking decisions about who gets a ventilator and who doesn’t,” she said.
This declaration forced bars and restaurants across Phoenix to switch to only having take-out and drive-thru options to protect both customers and staff members. After Wednesday’s decision to continue the discussion, the city will still be in a State of Emergency until Friday’s special meeting.
In a press release that Gallego posted on Twitter after the declaration on Tuesday, Gallego explained why the city needed to take action.
“This decision was not made lightly,” she said in the release. “We understand we are talking about people’s livelihoods and lives. Servers, bartenders, waitstaff, and others will need our support during this time. It is imperative that all levels of government partner to put forward innovative solutions to support our businesses and residents.”
All members of the council voted yes in the Special Session on continuing the discussion except for Councilman Sal DiCiccio, District 6, who did not comment on his reasoning for his decision.
Before voting, Councilwoman Debra Stark, District 3, took a moment to clarify her reasoning behind voting yes on the furthering item’s discussion.
“I just want to make sure that people understand we still want to protect the health care system and our first responders,” Stark said.
Gallego took to Twitter by posting a video announcing the changes and her reasoning behind the decision.
“We are doing this in response to the need to have small groups and to promote social distancing. We are doing this to keep our communities safe,” Gallego said in her video on Twitter. “We understand that this is incredibly difficult for our small businesses and the workforce that will be impacted by this.”
In a press release that came out after the Special Meeting, Gallego stated how she hoped she could come up with a solution in Friday’s meeting.
“I hope to work with fellow councilmembers over the next 48 hours to get this declaration ratified. The health of our community depends on it,” she said in the release.
The meeting on Friday can be viewed on the City of Phoenix’s official youtube channel, or on the City of Phoenix website.
Contact the reporter at ktmoss1@asu.edu.
