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Doctors Urge Arizonans To Vote Safely As COVID-19 Spreads

Published: Thursday, October 29, 2020 - 2:58pm
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Friday is the last day for early in-person voting in Arizona. A group of doctors is encouraging voters to use early voting options and to remember health precautions to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the state.

Arizona doctors with the group, Committee to Protect Medicare, are reminding Arizonans that voting early will help limit crowds at polling places on Election Day, which is important as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the state. 

“Physicians and public health professionals across the board are urging people to follow the science, which is nonpartisan and applies to everyone, regardless of who they vote for," said Dr. Cadey Harrel, a family physician in Tucson. "Early voting is one way to help reduce lines and potential crowding on election day and also limits the number of people that poll workers have to interact with, which helps to keep them safe." 

It’s now too late to send your early ballot through the mail in Arizona, but ballots can still be delivered to a drop-box or polling place. If you do vote in-person, the doctors say it’s important to take health precautions.  

“All voters should wear masks to reduce the spread of COVID-19; all voters should maintain social and physical distancing, keeping at least six feet away from the nearest person if not more; voters should wash their hands frequently and practice strong personal hygiene before, during and after going to a polling location," said  Dr. Murtaza Akhter, an emergency physician in Phoenix.

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