Governor to Arizonans: "Stay home, stay healthy and stay connected"

This afternoon, Gov. Doug Ducey issued a “stay-at-home” order, effective tomorrow at 5 p.m. through April 30. The latest executive order follows new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and comes at the recommendation of public health officials who are tracking Arizona-specific data.

The Governor’s Office is calling this a “stay-at-home” order – instead of a “shelter-in-place” order, as other states are calling it – in an effort to brand it differently by adding a mental health component and encouraging people to go outside while maintaining the six-foot separation.

Arizonans are specifically urged to “limit their time away from their place of residence or property,” except to conduct or participate in “essential activities” including working or volunteering in “essential functions” and to utilize any services or products provided by “essential businesses.” The extensive list of which businesses qualify as “essential” was outlined in an executive order issued last week (detailed here). Additionally, the order exempts homeless individuals as well as sole proprietors of businesses (if the business is not open to the public), and encourages people to limit their use of public transportation as much as possible.

Under this policy, "essential activities" include:

• Obtaining necessary supplies and services for family, household members and pets, such as groceries, food and supplies for household consumption and use, supplies and equipment needed to work from home, assignments for completion of distance learning and products necessary to maintain safety, sanitation and essential maintenance of the home, residence.
• Engaging in activities essential for health and safety, including things such as seeking medical, behavioral health or emergency services and obtaining medical supplies or medication.
• Caring for a family member, friend, or pet in another household or residence, which includes but is not limited to transportation for essential health and safety activities and to obtain necessary supplies and services for the other household. 
• Engaging in outdoor exercise activities, such as walking, hiking, running, biking or golfing, but only if appropriate physical distancing practices are used.
• Attending work in or conducting essential services which includes but is not limited to transporting children to child care services for attending work in an essential service.
• Engaging in constitutionally protected activities such as speech and religion, the democratic process to include voting any legal or court process provided that such is conducted in a manner that provides appropriate physical distancing to the extent feasible.

Violating the order can be a Class 1 misdemeanor, though the order specifically states that people shall not be required “to provide documentation or proof of their activities to justify their activities under this order” and that people must be notified and given a chance to comply before being charged.


TLDR: the “stay-at-home” order defines essential activities broadly, and allows the “new normal” of day-to-day life to continue. You can find the official executive order here.