Clovis City Councilmember and former Clovis Mayor Bob Whalen provided a statement earlier this morning Sunday, Mar. 22 in regards to the State and the City’s decision on the Stay-At-Home Order:
Even the smartest decisions by the government can have negative unintended consequences. I’ll explain below. In the meantime, please be just as smart (smarter would be better) than your government. Do not overreact, but respond thoughtfully to what’s ahead.
Here’s an example: The “stay at home” order from the Governor, Fresno and, which has now been affirmed by, the City of Clovis caused many to do just that – regardless of whether they were one of those exempted from the order. Increased fear can do that to people. In my day job I am a Chief Deputy District Attorney. Deputy DAs are in the courts on a regular basis. As a result of so many people staying at home, 6 courtrooms were consolidated down to two. One of those courtrooms was the smallest in the courthouse. As you can imagine, both courtrooms were significantly overcrowded and there was no room for social distancing. It was the proverbial can of sardines in there. So an order which was designed to keep people safe had the unintended negative consequence of increasing the risk to our people, our families and our communities.
Be smarter than your government. Keep your eye on the ball. The objective is to stop the spread of this virus by keeping physical distance and exercising good hygiene. As more people stay home, do not consolidate operations, if anything expand them so people can keep their distance.
Finally, one caveat: If you are 65 or older, suffer from an underlying health issue, have signs or symptoms of this virus or have traveled to an area with higher infection rates than here, please stay at home.