We do value having the right to make those choices as individuals. That's a very American thing. I think in my city, Amarilloans have done a responsible job of that. Many businesses that watched our numbers and said,' We're not ready to open' even though statewide they had the ability to open, they chose not to. I think a lot of customers are doing the same.

Mayor Ginger Nelson

I don't think any mayor feels like they have the tests that they need, because ideally I would be able to test all of my citizens every week, and we would be able to strategize based on those test results who can go to work safely, who can go to school safely. So we definitely need more testing supplies. That being said, based on the testing supplies that I know are available on a national basis, I do feel like our state government and the federal government have been very responsive to the outbreak here in Amarillo, we're a hotspot. We've been hit hard, and we needed those resources, and they're still coming to us.

Mayor Ginger Nelson

We've used the tagline,' I'll wear one for you, if you'll wear one for me' because truly it is a new form of citizenship that you would consider others and the needs of others above your own comfort, whether that's vanity of not wearing a mask or even just the discomfort of having your nose and mouth covered, i think the people in Amarillo know that stopping the spread of this disease most depends on the choices we make as individuals.

Mayor Ginger Nelson

No one expects to be on a cancer journey, and I'm in my 40s, so I'm not in the normal Covid high-risk age range, but it has given me a very empathetic perspective to someone who is.

Mayor Ginger Nelson

Because they're critical and they can not close, they continued working, and they work side-by-side to do their jobs. But also just the nature of any manufacturing, any large employer where Mayor Ginger Nelson have thousands of employees showing up on certain shift times, they walk through the hallways together, they change in the same locker rooms together, they eat during their breaks or during lunch hour, they eat in the same cafeteria.

Mayor Ginger Nelson

You don't live your life everyday like it has an end to it, but a cancer diagnosis will change that fast. And then you bring on something like this Covid and it just really has given our family the gift of savoring time together and recognizing that the relationships we have are important and we want to be investing in them and taking care of each other.

Mayor Ginger Nelson