State of emergency declared in Fresno is right move. So is not yet locking down city

The city of Fresno is now under a state of emergency, a declaration seldom used and only when the situation is truly serious. That time is now with the coronavirus pandemic.

Overall, city leaders said and did all the right things in a special meeting Monday. The City Council unanimously approved Mayor Lee Brand’s proclamation of an emergency. The mayor listed a number of steps the city has taken to assure public health and safety. And council members and the mayor repeatedly called on the public to remain calm and patient in this unusual time.

City Hall will remain open, but residents are encouraged instead to go to the city’s website, where a section is devoted to the coronavirus and has multiple links on how to pay bills, start utility service, or submit a building application (www.fresno.gov/coronavirus/).

Brand also said Fresno has not yet reached the dire stage of Bay Area cities that announced they were locking down residents in their homes. He rightly pointed out that Fresno County has had only two confirmed cases of coronavirus infection. The Bay Area has been hard hit, with 261 cases as of Monday.

By announcing the emergency declaration, Brand puts Fresno in line for federal and state financial help. Such requests had not yet been made, but almost certainly will, he indicated.

The city is awaiting state advice on two areas: how to help the homeless and whether to ban evictions for unpaid rent. Homeless activist Desiree Martinez pushed Brand to get hand sanitizer to homeless people, as well as keep homeless people now sheltered in those places and move others into motels. She encouraged stopping evictions as well.

Brand said Gov. Gavin Newsom will provide direction on both fronts in coming days.

To symbolize how much the virus is altering normal life, Brand said he was going to limit his own comings and goings. The reason? He is 70 years old. The state’s guidance is that anyone over age 65 should remain inside their residence to limit exposure. The virus has been more deadly to older people. He said he would attend City Hall meetings that were truly essential.

Pastor D.J. Criner, of St. Rest Baptist Church, also noted how hard the sequestering hits the older members of his southwest Fresno church. They are regulars in line for the Sunday meal after service. Now the church has to figure out a different way to get them the food.

Criner led the invocation Monday, and said the emergency has stripped away the politics of the right and the left. “Keep us together,” Criner prayed.

To that Council President Miguel Arias added that no political distance can divide Fresno’s leaders in this time. “Our better side will prevail,” he said.

Given the real threat of the coronavirus, amen to that.

This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 5:00 AM.