The first confirmed case of COVID-19 occurred in an ASU student on January 26, 2020. It put Arizona in the headlines for the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, eventually resulting in over 3 million cases and over 135,000 deaths nationwide.

Our governor did nothing for the two following months. Instead, he followed the delusional advice of White House advisors and the president, who predicted that 15 confirmed cases would be down to zero in a week. On March 30, 2020, science forced Governor Duncy to issue a stay at home order.

His lack of leadership and fanaticism for Trump has been a dismal failure to the people of Arizona. Ignoring scientific facts and going against the guidelines established by the CDC, the governor reopened the state early in order to appease his idol, Trump. Now, Arizona is one of four states with rapidly escalating cases and deaths.

The president recently demanded that governors reopen schools or he will take away their federal school funding. Medical professionals and infectious disease scientists vehemently oppose reopening schools during the peak phases of the pandemic; however, our “stable genius” president, who advises people to drink household disinfectants, thinks he knows better.

There’s little doubt that Governor Ducey will again cower to the “king” and open our schools to appease Trump’s massive ego and to seek his place as a simpering Trump loyalist. The governor is meek, timid and lacking any proactive approach or the leadership to diminish the soaring spread of the coronavirus.

Predictions indicate that the worst may be yet to come, and Governor Ducey will proudly try to force our state into another preventable disaster at our expense.