By Christine Severance, D.O. | Arizona Mirror
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Shame on you, Scottsdale City Councilman Guy Phillips. Arizona has broken another daily record for new COVID-19 cases and our hospitals are reaching capacity, some of them already closed to new patients. Rather than supporting health care workers, who risk their lives every time they provide care to a person infected with this virus, or protecting the more vulnerable of our population, you hold a protest, encouraging your constituents not to wear masks despite a county-wide mandate and community-wide spread of the coronavirus.
If that wasn’t enough, you stood on a stage repeating the phrase, “I can’t breathe”, mocking the death of George Floyd while further spreading the myth, repeatedly debunked by science, that face masks deny users of oxygen.
Shame on you, Apache Junction Mayor Jeff Serdy. You refused to make a city-wide mask mandate, stating, “I think it’s sad that some put their safety in the hands of a mayor, councilmember, or governor.” You suggested that if individuals felt they were at risk, they should “stay home.” You overlooked two key facts: EVERYONE is at risk, and many of our medically fragile population MUST go to work in order to survive and to maintain insurance benefits.
