As of April 19, 2021, Governor of Arizona, Doug Ducey, lifted the mask mandate for Arizona schools, meaning that schools are capable of requiring or not requiring students to wear masks on their campus. As a result, many people questioned whether this was the appropriate decision for Arizona as a whole. 

As stated by AZ Family, Ducey announces, “Teachers, families, and students have acted responsibly to mitigate the spread of the virus and protect one another, and our school leaders are ready to decide if masks should be required on their campuses. We will continue to work with public health professionals and Arizona’s schools as more students return to the classroom and our state moves forward.”

A short while later, 12 News adds that Ducey stated in a tweet, “New: In alignment with @CDCgov guidance, I’m rescinding orders that direct K-12 schools to require masks.” To explain, Ducey made an informed decision by looking at statistics and information provided by the CDC. Now, this may seem like a valid explanation with the CDC guiding most of the health decisions made this year, but the CDC’s recommendations actually conflict with this message. To prove this, the CDC shares that people should continue to wear masks with the possibility of being asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic. But the wearing of masks could no longer be necessary with the upbringing of new technology and the slow decline in cases.