Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and District 7 Councilwoman Yassamin Ansari on Friday revealed that they tested positive for COVID-19.
Both of the city leaders expressed that they were vaccinated against COVID-19, including booster shots. Gallego has not been experiencing any symptoms, according to the statement from her office.
“I am following the CDC instructions,” Gallego said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recently shortened isolation and quarantine time, recommends that “you isolate when you are sick or when you have been infected with the virus, even if you don’t have symptoms.”
“I remain in close electronic contact with my staff to ensure my work on behalf of the people of Phoenix continues without interruption,” Gallego continued in the statement.
Unlike Gallego, Ansari was experiencing mild symptoms as of Friday, according to the press release from her office. Ansari’s office had been working remotely since Dec. 27.
City Hall includes two of the many people affected by the recent COVID-19 surge in Arizona. These announcements come as the state on Friday reported 14,888 new cases and 30 additional deaths, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
In her office’s statement, Ansari urged for Phoenicians to “get tested regularly, vaccinated if they haven’t already, and upgrade their masks to KN95 as scientists have urged.”
While KN95 and N95 face masks on the market may be expensive, increasingly hard to come by, or in some cases, counterfeit, the city of Phoenix is providing ongoing COVID-19 testing and vaccination resources. A list of these free events can be found here.
And more resources may be on the horizon for Phoenix residents.
“Our city is also working to help make preventative efforts more affordable and accessible by providing ‘Combating COVID Kits’ to residents which will include rapid at-home tests, city resources and more,” the statement from Ansari’s office said.
“These are efforts I’m proud to champion,” Ansari said in the release.
Contact the reporter at mailport@asu.edu.
Michelle Ailport is a graduate student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. In addition to being arts and entertainment editor for Downtown Devil, she also writes Downtown Digest, a weekly column with things to do.
