蜜柚直播

The City Council unanimously approved a motion during Tuesday鈥檚 council meeting to instruct City Manager Michael Ortega to meet with county officials, health-care providers, the University of 蜜柚直播 and others to discuss a plan to test 1,000 people per day over a two-month period.

Vice Mayor Paul Cunningham, who drafted the memo that outlined how the city could use the federal money for the testing plan, called the city鈥檚 action 鈥渁n aggressive plan to initiate public testing to be available for anyone who wants it,鈥� in a text to the Star.

During the meeting, he advocated for the importance of implementing something as soon as possible, saying that 鈥渨e should have had a program like this two or three weeks ago.鈥�

鈥淭he more testing we have, the better,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his is the time to start that process.鈥�

What the council鈥檚 vote did not do is outline the specifics of a testing plan, including how much of the city鈥檚 $95 million it received through the federal CARES Act would be used for testing. But Cunningham鈥檚 memo called for antibody and diagnostic tests at sites in each of the city鈥檚 council wards, as well as the 蜜柚直播 Convention Center.

Ortega said he鈥檒l be able to bring more information before the next council meeting, while also advocating that the program be voluntary for city employees. The specifics of who will run the program will be handled by the city鈥檚 procurement process.

鈥淚 just don鈥檛 know if $4 million is enough or $4 million is too much,鈥� he said of a potential cap on CARES Act money to be used for the testing plan.

The plan received endorsements from local health officials, including Dr. Richard Carmona, the former U.S. surgeon general, who argued during the meeting in favor of a regional short- and long-term plan to handle the pandemic.

He said 蜜柚直播, which represents two-thirds of the metropolitan population, should be able to meet with Pima County, which operates the Health Department and is coordinating public testing efforts, and the UA, which has launched a statewide antibody testing effort.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important the city have a seat at the table,鈥� said Carmona, also a distinguished professor at the UA. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important that we come together as a community 鈥� and figure out a path forward that we can all agree on because that鈥檚 in the best interest of our community.鈥�

Dr. Bob England, Pima County interim health director, said he鈥檚 鈥済rateful鈥� the city is offering additional resources.

He labeled the current testing capacity as 鈥渋nadequate,鈥� adding that it will remain that way until any doctor will be able to prescribe a test.

鈥淚 agree with Dr. Carmona about getting together on a plan so we can prioritize the resources that we do have and target those who need it first as we roll this out,鈥� England said during the meeting. 鈥淚n the long run, this is going to be helpful.鈥�

England also cautioned that obtaining supplies for testing is not easy because of supply-chain shortages, adding the county is still waiting to fill some of its requests made in March.

鈥淢oney isn鈥檛 everything. Don鈥檛 be despondent if you don鈥檛 see massive results right away,鈥� England said.

In a prepared statement, Dr. Michael Dake, the University of 蜜柚直播鈥檚 senior vice president of health sciences, similarly welcomed the idea.

鈥淭he University of 蜜柚直播 would welcome an opportunity to continue coordinating with the city of 蜜柚直播 and Pima County on the region鈥檚 response to the pandemic in the same way we are coordinating with the state of 蜜柚直播 in conducting antibody testing for 250,000 health-care workers and first responders across the state,鈥� he said.

Mayor Regina Romero advocated for 蜜柚直播 to be part of any long-term plan for coronavirus response.

鈥淲e understand completely that Pima County is in charge and responsible for the health of our community in its entirety,鈥� she said. 鈥溍坭种辈� is playing an important role in this question about testing and the future planning.鈥�

Councilman Steve Kozachik cautioned that he鈥檚 spoken with health-care providers and thinks it would be prudent for the city to support existing initiatives rather than create its own.

鈥淚f we have dollars we have to spend, why wouldn鈥檛 we invest in the systems we have in place?鈥� Kozachik said. 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure what we鈥檙e adding to the table that doesn鈥檛 already exist.鈥�

Cunningham labeled the program as a start until health officials can figure out expanded initiatives, such as plasma donations, and said the city has to start now, considering the decision from the state to roll back most limitations on business operations.

鈥淚 want to get started. I don鈥檛 want to wait anymore. 鈥� We need to get this process started and this testing program started as soon as possible,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檒l be damned if he鈥檚 (Gov. Doug Ducey) going to open this state back up and the city not have widespread testing.鈥�