University of Arizona in the News

"One of my concerns is whether people are ever going to take public health emergencies seriously," said Dr. Murtaza Akhter.

"Right now, the particular shape that Black Lives Matter is taking has forced people to really think about the longer histories of racism," said Tyina Steptoe.

The University of Arizona is testing the Covid Watch smartphone app.

Randy Cohen, the associate athletic director for medical services, and Gerry Detty created a performance gaiter that athletes can wear as they train.

In Arizona, local health departments didn't have sufficient time to build the capacities that would prove to be necessary once the state reopened, said Kacey Ernst.

Kristen Pogreba-Brown, an epidemiologist at the College of Public Health, said that "at a minimum," Arizona should have a mandatory mask order.

"It's not a question of whether we should have reopened when we did or not. It's how we did in terms of the behavior of individuals," said Dr. Farshad Marvasti.

"The risk is not zero, but how great a risk it is, we don't know," said Charles Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona.

Paloma Beamer and Kacey Ernst recently published a guide on what you should consider when making the decision to board a plane as well as ways to reduce your risk.

From the perspective of Arizona emergency room physician Dr. Murtaza Akhter, the COVID-19 pandemic here could be even worse than the state's numbers are showing.