Quote:Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican, announced on Friday that he was lifting coronavirus restrictions on businesses limiting how many customers could be served at one time.

“For businesses, physical distancing and mask protocols will remain in place, however specific occupancy percentage limitations will expire. This applies to restaurants, gyms, theaters, water parks, bowling alleys, and bars providing dine in services,” the governor’s office announced in a statement. “Spring Training and Major League Sports will have the ability to operate upon submission and approval of a plan to the Arizona Department of Health Services that demonstrates implementation of safety precautions and physical distancing.”

The statement added that local entities and mayors would be prohibited from implementing “extreme measures that shut down businesses.”

“We’ve learned a lot over the past year,” Ducey said. “Our businesses have done an excellent job at responding to this pandemic in a safe and responsible way. We will always admire the sacrifice they and their employees have made and their vigilance to protect against the virus.

“Unlike other states, we never did a shutdown here in Arizona,” he added. “We withstood the calls from the extremes on both sides, and we will continue to ignore them. We always knew that fighting this virus would be dependent on the personal responsibility of everyday Arizonans.”