In Senate committee hearing, Senator calls for effective contact tracing in the U.S. to flatten the curve and prevent a second wave of COVID-19
WASHINGTON – Arizona senior Senator Kyrsten Sinema asked aviation leaders during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing how to protect jobs and the health of airline employees and passengers. Sinema also called for Congress and the aviation industry to work together to implement contact tracing in the U.S. to flatten the curve and prevent a second wave of COVID-19.
“In order to bend the curve of the virus and prevent a second wave, we need contact tracing systems in place, cleaning and hygiene standards, and a workforce that is both protected from the virus and ready to support the airline industry,” said Sinema, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Sinema has been a vocal advocate of contact tracing following the quick spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. In April, Sinema and Republican Senator Mitt Romney (Utah) urged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement a robust contact tracing system to protect Arizonans from the spread of the coronavirus and future pandemics.
As bipartisan leaders of the Senate Subcommittee on Aviation and Space, Republican Senator Ted Cruz (Texas) and Sinema held a hearing in March to examine the role of global aviation in containing infectious diseases. Sinema also wrote Vice President Pence about the need for the federal government to implement a single online webform to begin contact tracing from travelers to more complete, accurate, and timely data. Following her letter, Sinema was joined by Republican Senator Ted Cruz (TX) on a separate letter to Vice President Pence and members of the coronavirus task force urging them to implement a single online webform that would allow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to directly collect complete, accurate, and timely data to trace infected or exposed travelers.