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Fresno County declares coronavirus emergency. One supervisor says many are ‘overreacting’
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors declared the novel coronavirus an official emergency Tuesday, following recommendations from federal and state officials, but at least one supervisor said it’s an overreaction.
In two separate votes, the supervisors gave the county’s emergency director and its health officer the power to pursue state and federal emergency funds as they become available.
Officials announced the emergency earlier in the week but Tuesday’s vote during a special meeting made it official. The county began monitoring the virus after it first showed in China, according to David Pomaville, director of the county Public Health Department.
“I think this is going to be with us for a while,” he said. “I assure you every week we’ll see some changes.”
Two Fresno County men have tested positive for the coronavirus, also called COVID-19, officials said on Sunday.
The first was a man older than 65 who had been on a Grand Princess cruise; the second was described as a middle-aged man who had traveled abroad. Both are recovering and have been instructed to self-quarantine, according to county health officials.
Declaring a state of emergency also will give the county flexibility in managing its approximately 7,000 employees, many who have families dealing with school closures, according to Fresno County Administrative Officer Jean Rousseau.
Library shutdown
The county will begin shutting down its libraries due to recommendations to keep gatherings to 10 people or fewer, Rousseau said. Officials are also assessing which employees can work from home and which must interact with the public.
“We still have services to provide,” he said. “We just have to be very careful how we do that.”
Tax season is also ramping up as April approaches. Officials said sending checks in the mail is the safest way to pay taxes for the public and for public employees.
Some industries, like those in the agricultural sector, will continue to operate through the emergency, officials noted. Producing food can’t come to a halt for several weeks, according to Supervisor Brian Pacheco, who is a dairyman.
“We don’t have a choice,” he said. “We have to milk, feed and water the animals every day.”
County officials say they are working with farmers to make sure their work force is being monitored and ensure they are allowed time off, if they need it.
Brandau: Many are alarmist
Though county officials were urging the precautionary measures, Supervisor Steve Brandau said many public officials were being alarmist.
“I think that many in government and in our society have been overreacting to the Chinese coronavirus,” he said. “This overreaction causes me great concern over the economy.”
“I’m very concerned about sending the message that we should be shutting everything down,” he said
He ultimately voted with the rest of the supervisors to declare the emergency, noting it loosens the protocol in case an emergency contract is needed to respond to the outbreak.
City of Fresno
Fresno Mayor Lee Brand declared a state of emergency on Monday in response to the coronavirus and announced a number of measures the city is taking to serve residents during the pandemic.
The Fresno City Council voted unanimously the same day to approve the mayor’s declaration. The council supported a price-gouging ordinance after reports that some markets were selling items at exponentially high rates.
Officials have also thinned out some of the less necessary items from the City Council meeting scheduled this week. No ceremonial matters are scheduled for Thursday’s meeting, for example.
State response
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday urged all movie theaters and gyms across California to shut down temporarily, and for restaurants to close except for takeout service.
That order escalated the governor’s directive a day earlier, when he said all bars and nightclubs statewide should close and that restaurants should limit their occupancy. He said Californians older than 65 should voluntarily self-isolate at home.
Newsom gave Monday’s executive order hours after President Donald Trump and the White House recommended no gatherings of more than 10 people be held for at least the next 15 days.
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