Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

Voluntarily staying home has allowed me the time to think about this situation…a lot. As a councilmember it is my primary duty to protect the residents of Glendale. On a personal level, I am the primary caregiver for my 84 year old husband, a 90 year old brother-in-law and a 76 year old brother. If I get sick they have no one else. These are my random thoughts about this situation. I’d love to have your thoughts as well as a comment to this blog.

  • With increased testing the number of people diagnosed with the virus will rise dramatically. Many probably already had symptoms or were mildly ill and the tests will merely confirm their illness.
  • Social distancing has become critical. You may be young and healthy and may not care about social distancing but you should care…deeply. What if you are asymptomatic? You have no symptoms but turn out to be a carrier. Do you want to take the chance of giving it to an aunt or uncle? Your grandmother or grandfather? There is a difference between thinking you are immortal and selfishness. Granted, nothing may happen to you but there could be many people who may suffer as a result of your action or perhaps, inaction.
  • The City of Flagstaff has just declared a State of Emergency. It has a population of 138,000 (roughly half that of Glendale) and ranks as the 15th largest city in the state. What prompted them to declare? Should the ten largest cities in the state (Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Glendale, Gilbert, Tempe, Peoria and Surprise) be making the same declaration?
  • Hoboken, New Jersey, with a population of about 50,000 has declared a curfew for the entire town from 10 PM to 6 AM. What made them decide to do so? Many cities nationwide are mandating the closure of all public gathering places such as restaurants, theaters, gatherings of people, etc. What caused them to do so?
  • As Dr. Anthony Fauci stated very recently, “If it looks like you’re overreacting you’re probably doing the right thing.” Personally, I think Glendale should be overreacting. I think it is time for Glendale to become proactive by mandating the closure of all businesses with the exception of pharmacies, grocery stores, banks and gas stations.
  • Why when we have council meetings are we still allowing the public to attend? Why are we not taking the temperatures of employees when they come to work? If they have a fever they should be sent home and self quarantine for 14 days.
  • Fauci talks repeatedly about “flattening the curve.” What he means is that if we social distance and contain the spread, our local health systems will not be over whelmed. We know there is a limited supply of Personal Protective Gear (PPE) for first responders as well as ventilators for the sickest. In order to preserve these limited resources cities throughout the country, including Glendale, should be taking extraordinary measures; to do their part to contain the spread thereby preserving our limited capacity to deal with thousands of sick people…that will soon be here.
  • First responders in Glendale should be tested often. Fire personnel will respond with full PPE as long as they can obtain it but police officers will not be wearing that type of protection. How do we protect them?

There is far more that I could say but I would rather have your thoughts. What should Glendale be doing? If anything?

Here’s a dilemma for you that I’d love to have you weigh in on. This Tuesday, Glendale’s city council will have a budget workshop in city hall chambers, open to the public. Should we be meeting in person or should we be telecommuting? We possess that capability.

© Joyce Clark, 2020         

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