Modesto’s leaders stay a step ahead of Stanislaus County’s in coronavirus approach
In the past year or so, the performance of top leaders in the city of Modesto periodically has come under fire, while Stanislaus County leadership mostly has been worthy of praise. It seems strange to see these agencies — the two most visible and arguably most important in our region — have reversed that perception when it comes to coronavirus.
Last week, City Manager Joe Lopez issued an emergency notice for Modesto. On Tuesday, City Hall offices closed to the public. Thursday, the Modesto City Council officially advised people to stay home until April 6 or until this thing blows over, and took other steps specifically designed to help renters, homeowners and others.
County leadership, which has a much more important role in helping people understand and respond to coronavirus and COVID-19, often has appeared to be a step behind. The county was two days behind Modesto in closing public service counters, and as of early Thursday afternoon had issued no stay-home order.
The Modesto Bee took the county to task for going silent over the past weekend even as the frenzy ramped up. This doesn’t mean county leaders weren’t working hard; they were. This doesn’t mean they don’t care; they do.
But no one could see what the county was doing because all weekend long, they didn’t update their coronavirus web site — the very source county leaders keep insisting people check for the most up-to-date information.
When people feel ignored, they get scared and angry — exactly what we don’t need in this unprecedented crisis.
To their credit, the county responded well, posting information videos and inviting everyone to submit questions for experts to answer in a Facebook Live event Wednesday evening that was streamed in real time. Unfortunately, the event came off like amateur hour.
For the first five minutes, viewers were met by a sideways picture. Whoever was filming it apparently did no picture test beforehand — the first rule in producing any such video. Viewers rightfully scoffed and ridiculed in real-time comments. Talk about getting off on the wrong foot.
In other comments, viewers repeatedly asked why the five-person panel included no doctors. It’s a valid question. In a medical crisis, people want to hear from medical experts. Stanislaus County offered none.
In contrast, our neighbors to the south — Merced County — also conducted a live-streamed Q&A session on Wednesday. All three of its solemn-faced panelists were doctors, seated six feet apart, and the show was emceed by that county’s public health officer.
It’s curious that Stanislaus’ public health officer — who previously appeared in other videos produced by the county, and by The Bee — was not made available for the county’s big show on Wednesday.
Why is the public health officer so important? We have been told repeatedly that the most important, life-affecting pronouncements of this outbreak — closing schools, and shelter-in-place orders — are her calls to make. But when the lights came on Wednesday — for an audience forced to watch with heads titled 90 degrees — she wasn’t there.
National experts say the best way to confront COVID-19, in the absence of actual testing, is to pretend you have the disease and stay away from others.
Modesto got the message and took prudent action, while Stanislaus County leaders quite literally went sideways.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 3:01 PM.
