Like a passenger pulling the emergency brake on a speeding train, all of the communities within the Event News Enterprise coverage area came to a screeching halt virtually overnight as the invisible threat from a novel pathogen gripped the nation.
“It’s kind of shocking,” said Los Alamitos Mayor Richard D. Murphy, who noted that driving on the 405 Freeway this weekend was like “driving during the Superbowl. There was no one else on the road.”
He said the city has declared a state of emergency and is taking a series of actions being coordinated by city manager Chet Simmons (see related story).
Meanwhile, Cypress city manager Peter Grant said the city has also declared an emergency and has reacted to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently declared State of Emergency and Executive Order.
All of the local officials interviewed by the Event News Enterprise indicated they are closely monitoring state and federal officials and will comply with whatever is required (see below).
Meanwhile, the situation was further complicated by the closing of Los Al schools, and all schools within Orange County, which created social reverberations throughout the area (see related story).
According to the Rossmoor Community Services District and the La Palma city council, they also held emergency meetings and have issued emergency proclamations listing all temporary changes to the district’s operation (see also below).
On Sunday, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a proclamation that included “guidelines” asking restaurants who stay open to utilize takeout only and/or practice social distancing and the executive order strongly suggested bars and nightclubs shudder their doors. Some cities, though not all, have since ordered them closed
A survey of local grocery stores revealed overworked employees and a run on many cleaning and food products. Officials now are asking families to just buy what they need.
Officials are so busy implementing the state and federal mandates, they say they’ve had little time to contemplate the long-term implications of an unprecedented “standstill. Small businesses are being severely affected as Congress and the Trump Administration are taking actions to provide sick leave and financial relief for businesses.
Meanwhile, a top USC doctor working an experimental virus says the social impact will likely get much worse before it gets better. Dr. David G. Agus, a professor or medicine and engineering at the USC Keck School of Medicine said on CBS Monday that while officials were very happy to see how communities have “stepped up” in the face of the outbreak, but warned they may have “to step up a little more” in the weeks ahead.