Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce

Todd Sanders is president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Chamber.

The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 174 new cases of COVID-19 in our state Aug. 31, meaning there have now been 201,835 confirmed cases this year. No new deaths were reported. In fact, DHS removed one death from the total, which now stands at 5,029 Arizonans lost to the pandemic. The negative number is an effort to remove duplicate death data.

Maricopa County, among others, has reached moderate transmission status in this pandemic, a label that generally allows more businesses to reopen with certain precautions in place.

On Aug. 28, Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services, told us daily new cases are on the decline, but the moderate label is not an all-clear to cram your 50 closest friends into your favorite little bar.

Businesses have to attest to limiting patrons and ensuring their visitors are following public health guidelines. Christ said owners were eager to do so.

“A lot of them were more than happy to establish a lower occupancy and much more strict requirements in order to be able to operate," Christ said. "And I think they see that — they know what happened back in June, and they’re trying to prevent that from happening again and resulting in another shutdown.”

Christ also offered advice on what people can do if they see businesses not following COVID guidelines.

“People can go and file a complaint about a business this is not, you know, maintaining these requirements," Christ said.

For more about what’s next for businesses and some of the concessions they’ve made to reopen, The Show spoke with Todd Sanders, president and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.

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