Fresno leader says coronavirus reaction has gone too far. Here’s what experts have said
Fresno City Councilmember Garry Bredefeld posted a video message about the novel coronavirus outbreak on Sunday in opposition to decisions made by elected officials based on experts’ recommendations.
Bredefeld posted his video to Facebook late Sunday arguing there has been an overreaction by city and state leaders who have ordered residents to stay home during the virus outbreak.
“Shutting down our entire economy – the best economy in the world – is not the way to go,” Bredefeld said in his video. “There are ways to prevent this disease without destroying our economy.”
Bredefeld said he wanted to see more data before closing any business down. The consensus of health officials, however, is that the number of deaths from the coronavirus, also called COVID-19, could be exponentially worse without measures to “flatten the curve.”
Bredefeld argued the U.S. should follow South Korea’s model for controlling the virus, which has included more testing and the use of quarantines without closing businesses. Officials there also acted immediately.
Fresno County health officials have said they only have so many test kits and are using them “judiciously.”
Many American officials, like former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, expressed concerns that the Korean model could not work in the U.S. “We probably lost chance to have an outcome like South Korea,” he wrote on Twitter. “We must do everything to avert the tragic suffering being borne by Italy.”
The Fresno City Council passed its shelter-in-place order Wednesday with the support of Mayor Lee Brand, saying the measure was necessary to decrease the spread of COVID-19. Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted a similar statewide order the next day.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said at a news conference last week, “The worst is, yes, ahead for us. It is how we respond to that challenge that’s going to determine what the ultimate endpoint is going to be.”
Influenza comparison
In his video, Bredefeld advises following the Centers for Disease Control’s recommendations, which are the same measures recommended every year during flu season. That includes washing your hands, not touching your face and other measures.
Bredefeld argues the coronavirus has not proven to be deadlier than the flu.
Public health experts have expressed concerns about the deadliness of the virus. The World Health Organization’s Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on March 3 of the fatality rate, “Globally, about 3.4 percent of reported COVID-19 cases have died. By comparison, seasonal flu generally kills far fewer than 1 percent of those infected.”
California is not alone in its shelter-in orders. States like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and other parts of the Midwest have issued statewide orders to stay home. Philadelphia and Dallas County, Texas, issued their own even though their respective states have not.
More than 100 million people across the country have been ordered to stay home.
Bredefeld is not the first Fresno-are official with a strong opinion about reaction to the coronavirus outbreak.
Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau expressed an opinion similar to Bredefeld’s last week, saying many people and elected officials in the country are overreacting to the virus. He, too, said he was concerned the reaction would hurt the economy.
The county declared a state of emergency as a reaction to the virus, but had not adopted a shelter-in-place order before the statewide one was announced.
Bredefeld and Brandau, both outspoken conservatives, served together on Fresno City Council for several years and often agreed on issues.
