July 6, 2020 Arizona State Capitol Building Executive Tower West 1700 W Washington Street Phoenix, AZ 85007 Governor Ducey, I write to invite you to the burial of my father, Mark Anthony Urquiza. He was one of the 88 Arizonans who died on June 30, 2020 from COVID-19. Despite having a huge family and many friends he died alone with an ICU nurse holding his hand. He had no known underlying health conditions. He was 65. He will be interred at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery on Thomas and 99th Avenue in Avondale this upcoming Wednesday, July 8 at 12:15 pm. My father became ill with a high fever and cough on Thursday, June 11th, was tested on Friday, June 12 and was admitted into the hospital due to low oxygen levels on Tuesday, June 16. After 10 days of high oxygen treatment his condition worsened. He was put on a ventilator and taken to the ICU on Friday, June 26. Meanwhile, my mother tested positive on Saturday, June 20. My father contracted the virus during the period when you forbade local governments from implementing their own safety measures, such as mandating the wearing of masks, to protect the public from the spread of COVID-19 through Executive Order 2020-36. As a master of public affairs, I can attest that poor policy and terrible leadership was responsible for his death. States around the country, and countries around the world have managed to slow their spread by implementing simple policy measures such as mask-wearing. With Arizona now having more reported cases daily than the European Union—26 nations with a combined population of 60 times that of Arizona—and with ICU beds at 90%, the writing is on the wall: there will be far more deaths of Arizonians then there needed to be because of your gross mismanagement. Your inaction and active denial of the devastation Covid-19 is causing has made it clear that the people dying, and their families left behind are just numbers to you. My father was anything but a number; his life mattered. As of today, 1,788 people have died in Arizona—1,788 lives that matter. That is why I invite you to his burial, to witness first-hand the tragedy of a family mourning our loved one and unable to even hold each other in our grief. This should not be happening this way. My father's life should have mattered to you, too. Due to the virus we are limiting guests, mandating everyone wear masks, keeping households 6-feet apart, and having hand sanitization on site. If I can manage a safe funeral, you can manage a safe state and prevent these unnecessary tragedies of your own making. Kristin Urquiza, MarkedByCovid@gmail.com