Banner Health hospitals will be allowed to resume elective surgeries starting Jan. 25 after pausing them on Jan. 1. This decision comes after a recent decrease in Arizona’s COVID-19 case and hospitalization rates.

Dr. Marjorie Bessel, the chief clinical officer for Banner Health, explained the decision to resume elective surgeries.

“The surgeries performed at Banner hospitals in Arizona are medically necessary procedures,” said Bessel. “If they are postponed for too long, they could turn into emergent medical issues that then require hospitalization, or subsequent ICU care.”

Bessel says hospitals may resume outpatient surgeries as well as procedures that don’t require more than a one-night stay.

All Banner hospitals are allowed to resume elective surgeries, but those decisions will be made at the hospital level, based on available staff and space.