The Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Arizona Medical Association earlier this month sent a letter to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors urging the supervisors to maintain the mandate to wear face coverings in public places to help slow the spread of coronavirus. The letter, which was signed by Chamber President and CEO Glenn Hamer and ArMA CEO Libby McDaniel, says, in part, that masks “are proven to be an effective safety protocol to slow the spread of infection.”
You can read the full letter here. The text is below.
The Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Arizona Medical Association (ArMA) are deeply invested in promoting the critical safety measures needed to slow the spread of coronavirus and protect the state’s residents, employees,and our healthcare heroes on the front lines of fighting the pandemic.
Earlier this year the Chamber and ArMA partnered to launch Be Safe, Be Open AZ! a collaboration between the business community and Arizona’s physician community that encourages all Arizonans to do their part to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, while simultaneously assisting business in safely and responsibly strengthening Arizona’s economic activity.
One of the core safety pillars of the Be Safe, Be Open AZ! campaign is requiring the use of face coverings to slow the spread of coronavirus. We applaud the steps the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has taken to ensure face coverings are widely used throughout Maricopa County as they are proven to be an effective safety protocol to slow the spread of infection.
We encourage you to continue the mandate. If we want to preserve the progress we’ve made and not revert backwards toward more infections and overstressed hospitals and risk more business closures, then we’ll all have to adhere to heightened protocols and demonstrate a commitment to responsibly protect ourselves and our fellow Arizonans.
Safety is key to ensuring employees can work, children and young adults can learn,businesses and healthcare providers canoperate, and our economy can continue to thrive.