Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs proclaims COVID-19 Memorial Day
Download mp3 (1.09 MB)
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has proclaimed the first Monday of March to be COVID-19 Memorial Day.
She made the announcement at the Arizona Heritage Center on Monday. Her speech was part of the COVID-19 Victims and Survivors Memorial Day Event, honoring the memory of the more than 33,000 Arizonans who lost their lives to COVID-19.
“My commitment to you, as we honor those lost, is to fight like heck for a better tomorrow," Hobbs said. "We were unprepared for this pandemic. We won’t be for the next one.”
Hobbs said the state has neglected public health for years.
Kristin Urquiza is the co-founder of Marked By COVID, a grassroots organization that helped put on the memorial. She said although this is the third year of the event, it’s the first time a governor has attended.
“A governor being here today really puts a line in the sand to reinforce that these losses mattered and that the people that we lost- that they’re not disposable," Urquiza said. "Public mourning, public commemoration, public grief is an important part of the healing journey.”
Urquiza lost her father to COVID-19.
She said former Gov. Doug Ducey declined past invitations to her events.
