Arizonans continue to react to Gov. Ducey's decision to lift COVID-19 restrictions

PHOENIX - A day after Arizona Governor Doug Ducey rolled back COVID-related restrictions in the state, Arizona’s top official fielded questions, centering on why Gov. Ducey chose to roll back the restrictions now.

Related: Arizona Gov. Ducey lifts COVID-19 restrictions, including local mask mandates

The announcement, made on March 25, transitions current COVID-related guidance for business from requirements to recommendations, and businesses will have the "ability to continue requiring masks and social distancing."

While businesses will still be allowed to enforce mask mandates if they want, cities, towns, and counties must lift theirs.

Dr. Cara Christ with the Arizona Department of Health Services said vital metrics were moving in the right direction, as more people in older age groups continued to get vaccinated. She said the goal was to not overwhelm hospitals, and she thinks Arizona can achieve that goal.

"It’s really about that personal responsibility, so as we looked at what we were enforcing, what we were doing, it made sense to move into the next phase of mitigation strategies," said Dr. Christ. "We’ve got lower case rates. We understand that the case rates may go up, but we have higher vaccination rates in those vulnerable vaccinations."

Dr. Christ’s answers came after Banner Health officials say now was not the time to roll back mitigation measures.

Dr. Christ admits Banner and other health groups were not consulted.

"I agree that people should still wear masks and continue to stay physically distanced. I agree that works to slow the spread of COVID. To keep them requirements, I don’t agree with that. They weren’t being enforced on the local level," said Dr. Christ.

For some gyms, Gov. Ducey's announcement was good news

For businesses that are now able to ease up on restrictions, Gov. Ducey's announcement on March 25 was good news.

At Anytime Fitness in Phoenix, members are no longer required to wear masks while in the gym area. The center is also able to increase capacity for the first time in about a year.

"It’s a great thing," said Branden Bunker. "It’s been very difficult having to wear masks within the gym, especially when you are doing cardio."

The gym is still doing temperature checks, but they are opening up cardio machines that previously were closed off to enforce social distancing, allowing them to increase capacity.

"We used to block off every other machine, not going to do that anymore but still encouraging people to keep their distance," said Bunker.

At Life Time, staff will continue to wear masks, but managers are also lifting mask requirements for those exercising in the gym area. Masks, however, are still required in other common areas where social distancing is not possible.

"We have had an overwhelmingly positive response, but we would of course encourage our customers who feel more comfortable wearing a mask to continue to do that," said General Manager Kayla Hakel.

Now that more machines have opened up, Hakel says they are able to bring in more members at a time, and after a very difficult year, she says she is grateful for member support and patience.

"We are really grateful to this community during this, that is unprecedented for everyone and we appreciate the partnership, and will continue to do that," said Hakel.