Gov. Ducey announces statewide mask campaign: ‘Tougher Than COVID’

PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced Thursday a statewide mask campaign aimed at increasing residents’ use of face coverings amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Tougher Than COVID campaign — created by eight Valley public relations and advertising firms — will be deployed in both English and Spanish across television, billboards and social media platforms, Ducey said during a press conference.

“We brought them [firms] together, we challenged them to help us make wearing masks more ubiquitous and prevalent, pull the politics out of it and make it part of what we need to do to get the pandemic behind us,” Ducey said.

“We think they’ve done some good work.”

Ducey unveiled two of the campaign’s ads during the press conference: a video and a billboard.

The video showcased a male boxer comparing the protection provided by a face covering to that provided by his gloves when he’s in the ring.

The billboard also featured a rugged-looking male with the slogan: “Go ahead. Tell me my mask looks weak.”

Ducey said more ads are currently in the works.

Last week, Ducey announced the state had partnered with Hanes to provide free cloth face masks to Arizona’s most high-risk residents.

During the press conference on Thursday, Ducey said there had been 44,000 mask orders which are currently being shipped to highly vulnerable residents.

The rate of new Arizona coronavirus cases has shown signs of slowing in recent weeks following the implementation of face mask requirements in many areas — including all of Maricopa County — and statewide regulations ordered by Ducey designed to slow the spread of COVID-19.

According to the Associated Press, the seven-day average for newly reported cases fell to 2,750.71 on Wednesday, the lowest point since June 24.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, the state’s weekly positive rate for diagnostic PCR tests, which indicates how much the virus is spreading, is on pace to fall for the third consecutive week.

The state reported pandemic totals of 152,944 cases and 3,063 deaths as of Thursday morning.

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