Glendale coronavirus cases hit 154, with mayor rating city ‘C-minus’ for social-distancing compliance
Glendale now has 154 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, more than doubling in a week, according to a report released Tuesday by the L.A. County Department of Public Health.
Last Tuesday, the city had a reported 76 cases of the virus that causes COVID-19. The death of a local resident in connection with the virus was reported by county officials the week prior.
The number of cases across L.A. County, now at 6,910, has skyrocketed in recent weeks, which health officials have attributed to both the virus spreading and improved testing. Each day brings an announcement of new cases and deaths.
Mayor Ara Najarian said local residents need to do a better job of following social-distancing rules, including wearing face coverings in public and strictly limiting face-to-face interactions to only those living under the same roof.
He gave the city a “C-minus” for compliance with the rules, adding that he’s seen young people hanging out near parks and has heard of larger gatherings still taking place throughout the city.
According to Najarian, he said the responsibility to enforce the rules falls on everyone who understands the seriousness of the ongoing health crisis.
“It’s parents’ jobs to make sure they know where their kids are going. It’s grandma’s job not to invite kids over to celebrate a birthday,” Najarian said on Monday.
Najarian said his family had to forego celebrating his father’s 90th birthday in-person on Saturday.
“It was kind of a big deal,” he said. “We had to bite the bullet.”
County officials have advised people to even avoid grocery shopping this week, calling it a critical period to reduce the spread of the virus.
Tracking the virus both in the city and across the state has been difficult due to testing lapses, something Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday said he “owns,” and vowed to improve. Independent virus tracking, including an initiative launched by the L.A. Times, have sprung up in an attempt to fill the gaps.
Several city officials said they’re largely in the dark about local testing, and do not receive briefings from local hospitals or the L.A. County Department of Health, the lead agency handling the pandemic. Only one of three local hospitals has been sharing its coronavirus testing results.
With a population of roughly 200,000, Glendale currently has an infection rate of just over 76 cases per 100,000 people. Cities across the county vary widely in infection rates, with Glendale falling within a normal range.
Looking at the raw numbers alone, City Councilman Ardy Kassakhian said it’s hard to make many inferences.
Taking any one of the anonymous patients reported infected, “did that person contract it at a local supermarket or their place of employment?” Kassakhian asked, rhetorically.
“As someone who’s not on the front line fighting this, it’s hard to say anything without talking to someone who is,” he added.
Kassakhian said he hopes healthcare providers and public agencies will be more forthcoming with information, so more sense can be made of the data.