Phoenix Mayor: “We open too early in Arizona”

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego (D) said Sunday that the pace of Arizona’s reopening indicated to some residents that the coronavirus crisis was over and, in turn, sparked a record number of new cases.

“We opened too early in Arizona. We were one of the last states to stay home and one of the first to re-emerge. And we went back from zero to sixty,” Gallego said on ABC’s “This Week.” “We had overcrowded nightclubs handing out free champagne, no masks. Our young people ages 20-44, who are my own demographic, really led the blast, and we’ve seen tremendous growth in that area. We’re seeing a lot of people going to big family gatherings and infect their relatives. “

Then he added: “I think that when the nightclubs were open, he sent the signal that we had defeated COVID again and obviously that is not the case.”

On why Arizona has the highest daily number of new COVID-19 cases per capita in the country, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego tells @MarthaRaddatz: “We opened too early in Arizona. We were one of the last states to stay home and one of the first to re-emerge. ” https://t.co/6GKZf7hQOI pic.twitter.com/psluto8O2l

– This week (@ThisWeekABC) July 5, 2020

Gallego also said the city was in a testing crisis, with people waiting up to eight hours to get tested for coronavirus. She said she asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency to conduct community testing in Phoenix.

“They told us that they are moving away from that, which seems to be declaring victory while we are still in crisis mode,” he said.

Arizona is one of the states that is driving the recent increase in coronavirus cases. During the past week, record numbers of new infections have been recorded.

ABC’s Martha Raddatz asked Gallego if mixed messages from various levels of government were making the job of containing the pandemic more difficult.

“It is. President TrumpDonald John Trump protesters tear down the Christopher Columbus statue on Baltimore Independence Day star Bill Pullman, urging Americans to wear a “mask of freedom” on July 4. he was in my community, he chose not to wear a mask, and he’s having big events while I’m trying to pressure people into needing to stay home and events with more than 10 people are dangerous according to the Centers for Disease Control Gallego said.