McSally releases coronavirus PSA

Senator urges Arizonans to stay home and stay healthy

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KYMA, KECY) - U.S. Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) issued a Public Service Announcement Thursday urging Arizonans to stay home. McSally asks constituents to help flatten the curve to avoid overwhelming the nation’s health care system and to help slow the spread of coronavirus.

Here's the full text of the PSA:

"The coronavirus is a real threat facing Arizona and our country, causing a lot of uncertainty and fear. This is understandable, but we are not helpless! By following CDC guidelines, we can slow down the spread and protect the elderly, sick, and our health care workers, which will literally save lives.

You may have heard experts talk about how we can “flatten the curve” of the virus. Here is what they mean: if we do nothing, the pandemic will spread fast and spike high, overwhelming our health care system. Those of us who are young and healthy are likely to be asymptomatic or have mild symptoms and recover, but it’s not about us. If it spreads quickly among us and many without symptoms, soon nurses, doctors, and nursing home staff will get it, then the elderly and sick will get it in extreme numbers, and the risks for them are severe and grave.

But if we change our behavior by washing our hands, staying home, and staying away from other people—what is called social distancing—we can slow down the spread drastically. This simulation from the Washington Post illustrates this dynamic.

If young and healthy people like us don’t change our behavior, the virus will spread quickly and the curve is steep. But by staying home and staying away from others—even if you are healthy and you  feel fine, we can slow the spread down like this and flatten the curve. Less people will get sick, less people will die, and we can get back to normal activity and work faster as a state and as a country.

We are acting swiftly to get immediate cash relief to workers, families, and small businesses impacted by this so they can pay their bills. But all of us need to urgently change our behavior and stay home. We are all in this together as Arizonans and Americans. We will get through this and we all have an important part to play. It’s up to our generation and the younger generation to save the greatest generation, right now.

Go to AZHealth.gov to get specific guidance on how you can save lives and help us get through this together. God bless you all and God bless Arizona and God bless America."