By Julie BUTCHER

Glendale Fire Chief Silvio Lanzas on Tuesday briefed the Glendale City Council on the city’s preparations and recommendations to best protect the public from the coronavirus health threat. While the situation is changing quickly, the chief noted, it is important to stay calm and listen to reliable sources of information. Up-to-the-minute data about the spread of the disease is available from Johns Hopkins University, for instance, at https://tinyurl.com/uwns6z5.

Executives from all of the area’s hospitals joined the chief for the update. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have engaged worldwide resources responding to the outbreak of the respiratory disease, caused by the novel (that means new) virus named “SARS-CoV-2.” The disease that it causes has been named “coronavirus disease 2019,” abbreviated COVID-19. Cases are confirmed in 115 countries.

On Jan. 30, the international health regulations emergency committee of the WHO declared a “public health emergency of international concerns.” U.S. authorities made similar subsequent public health emergency announcements as did the Los Angeles County Public Health Dept., covering all of the county’s cities. Long Beach and Pasadena have made separate declarations as each has its own independent municipal public health department.

Currently, there are 111,363 cases worldwide, with 3,892 confirmed deaths, and 566 cases in the U.S; currently, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Glendale.

Local authorities believe the threat of transmission is still low but believe that concern and attention is warranted because the virus is new and because an effective vaccine is estimated to be at least a year away. Local public health organizations are working with private labs to ensure the availability of tests that will be provided at no cost, covering uninsured patients.

Eighty percent of the people who get this illness won’t even know they have it, Lanzas explained, but those over 70 years of age are vulnerable. The symptoms are fever, cough and shortness of breath. City departments are focused on protecting public safety starting with frontline first responders and healthcare workers. The city has adjusted its sick leave policy to encourage sick people to stay home and is limiting city travel.

The public can help stop the spread of the virus by avoiding contact with people who are sick; not touching their faces; staying home when their sick; covering with a tissue a cough or sneeze and then throwing the tissue away and then washing hands; regularly washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds; and cleaning and disinfecting frequently-touched surfaces.

“Remain calm and respectful,” advised Lanzas. “Don’t assume someone of a specific race or nationality is likely to have COVID-19. This disease has affected people in 115 countries.”

Lanzas emphasized getting information from trusted sources. The city has designated a spot on its website for up-to-date info https://tinyurl.com/ud5l2my. LA county’s public health folks have as well: https://tinyurl.com/rffblnu. Check with the CDC at https://www.cdc.gov/ and updates from the WHO at https://tinyurl.com/yx6vexyp.

Next on the agenda, Mayor Ara Najarian invited Police Chief Carl Povilaitis to update the council on enforcement activities aimed at enhancing pedestrian safety, in part in light of conversations on social media in which he said it is “clear many of the responders were absolutely clueless about basic safety laws.”

Povilaitis reminded the council that it is the overall goal of the entire community to keep everyone safe.

“We find these accidents are usually preventable,” he said. “It requires attention to the basics: If you’re a pedestrian, you don’t want to step into the intersection until the cars have stopped and you’re sure they can see you. If you’re a driver, be watching for pedestrians. The time between perception and reaction is a second and a half, assuming you’re paying attention and not distracted by something else in your car.”

“California law,” the chief recalled was “drummed into my head by my mom” that pedestrians have the right-of-way. Whether it’s a marked or unmarked crosswalk, it’s still a crosswalk. Pedestrians can’t jump out in front of a car or leave the safety of the sidewalk in unsafe circumstances, Povilaitis cited the California Vehicle Code, but the car has an obligation to yield.

“If there’s someone in the roadway, stop for them. We all have parents and grandparents and kids. Just because someone’s crossing the road and you think they’re doing it illegally, it does not give you the right to whiz by them at 50 mph, to put their lives at risk.”

By law, jaywalking is defined specifically and solely as crossing between two signalized devices, the chief wrapped up. Crossing a residential street mid-block is not jaywalking.

On streets with multiple lanes of traffic, if one car stops for a pedestrian it is illegal to go around that car. For additional reference, the California DMV publishes videos such Rules of the Road #10 found at https://tinyurl.com/w2lq2hq and the city is working on uploading educational and informational driving videos on its website.

Lastly, the chief responded to rumors and innuendos: the city has no quota for citations. The city gets only a small percent of the base revenue from tickets issued in the city.

“Our goal is improving traffic safety,” he said.

Councilmembers voted their enthusiastic unanimous support of the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians, a native nation of northern Los Angeles County whose name means “People Facing the Sun.” They are seeking formal federal recognition. Los Angeles County commissioner Hector Perez-Pacheco urged support for the “beautiful work they have done within LA County, working cooperatively with other tribes locally and across the county.”

Councilmember Paula Devine asked that the city reconsider and revamp its landscaping ordinances, raising concerns that the complaint-driven nature of the current process is “being used as a weapon by some neighbors.” City manager Yasmin Beers replied that she had the authority to suspend citations and hold enforcement in abeyance pending further council review and action.

The council approved a four-year contract covering approximately 125 workers employed by the city’s public utility, represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 18. The contract runs from July 2019 to July 30, 2023 with non-retroactive wage increases of 2.25% now and 2% in August of each of the next three years. The city also agreed to two levels of longevity pay to keep experienced electrical line workers.

  Julie BUTCHER