Each of Gov. Doug Ducey’s press conferences on the coronavirus comes with some new announcement but one question from the press has come up again and again.

Why doesn’t he wear a mask?

Arizona’s governor has so far eschewed masks despite the fact that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.

“If I find myself in that situation, I’ll be wearing a mask, and I have masks available,” Ducey told reporters last month.

The governor also noted that the CDC’s guidance is a recommendation, not mandatory.

“Of course, it’s voluntary,” he said.

And, so, the issue comes up as the governor comes and goes from press conferences or when he goes out to face the public, as he did on Thursday.

Ducey’s office posted photos on social media of the governor stopping for lunch at Pita Jungle in Phoenix with a bipartisan group of legislators.

The get together was a show of support for the restaurant industry as eateries reopened dine-in service this week as the governor pulled back state restrictions in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

None of the politicians were wearing masks in the pictures. Restaurant staff appeared to be wearing masks.

The state’s own guidance for restaurants says eateries should develop standards for employees to wear masks around customers and coworkers. Retailers, too, are encouraged under the state’s new guidelines to consider offering masks for customers and employees alike.

The Twitter outrage was swift, with many responses questioning why the governor wasn’t setting a better example. Some also defended Ducey and the legislators.

One photo showed the group standing in close proximity to two restaurant workers who wore masks. Health officials say masks are recommended for the public largely to prevent infected individuals from transmitting the virus.

Masks have become not just a public health precaution but a sign of political leaning.

When the state Senate reconvened for a few hours last week, some lawmakers noted that it was mostly Democrats who were wearing masks. Most Republicans did not.

The CDC recommended Americans wear masks after studies showed that the coronavirus can spread between people interacting in close proximity even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms.

Wearing a mask, the CDC said, can slow the spread of the coronavirus and prevent people who have it but do not know it from spreading the disease to others. That, in turn, could hold back pressure on the health care system.

Some leaders have embraced the mask.

Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez has routinely worn a mask when out and about. The nation has been particularly hard hit by the coronavirus. The Navajo Department of Health began requiring residents to wear masks beginning in public in mid-April and Nez has promoted the measure.

In neighboring New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Wednesday that everyone must wear a mask in public, except when eating, drinking or exercising. She proceeded to demonstrate for reporters and the viewing public how to fashion a face covering out of a bandana.

Massachusetts instituted a similar policy in early May.

The idea is hardly new.

Phoenix required all residents to wear masks at one point during the 1918 influenza pandemic. Scofflaws were hauled into court. Even Gov. George P. Hunt posed for a photo wearing his mask.

Contact Andrew Oxford at [email protected] or on Twitter at @andrewboxford.

Read or Share this story: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2020/05/14/ducey-posts-photos-twitter-legislators-phoenix-restaurant-no-masks-were-seen/5195889002/