Clarence Anthony, CEO of the National League of Cities, announced on Tuesday that two attendees of its recent conference in Washington DC have tested positive for Coronavirus. A majority of City Council members attended the four-day event returning March 11.
North End councilwoman AmyMarie Vizzo-Paniccia notfied OIB that “I am glad I cancelled due to virus health situations and did not attend this Conference.” Council members trained to DC on March 6. See story here.
Among other council members who did not attend the conference, according to Vizzo-Paniccia: Maria Pereira, Denese Taylor-Moye, Alfredo Castillo, Michael DeFilippo and new member Avelino Silva.
NLC leadership had debated whether to go forward with the conference.
City Council President Aidee Nieves issued this statement:
Early last week members of the Bridgeport City Council attended the annual National League of Cities conference in Washington DC.
Members of the City Council met with other local elected leaders to advance their knowledge and learn best practices as well as meet with our Federal Delegation (Senator Blumenthal, Senator Murphy and Congressman Himes) at Capitol Hill to address and discuss Bridgeport issues and support through federal initiatives.
The Council members in attendance practiced measures to ensure their health and safety. Those Council members have shown no symptoms of COVID-19 but are taking precautionary steps to avoid contraction and spread of the virus by seeking professional advice from their Primary Care Physician and will take any further action as necessary if directed by medical professionals.
OMG!!!
Quick. Get tested. Find out if you have Coronavirus. Wait a minute. They said they attended general sessions and workshops.
Never mind. Find out what bars they went to and then we can figure out if they need to be tested.
Wait a minute. Maybe they’ll stay at home in self quarantine. 2 weeks with no City Council!
YEA!!!
Bob
It saddened me that you would joke around about men and women who when to a conference to see what others states are doing with transportation issues, housing, creating jobs, issues dealing with education and many other issues dealing with city government.You of all people should be a shame of yourself. Yes I’m being tested because I need to make sure I’m ok. I attended many workshops while I was there. Please do me a favor keep your jokes to yourself
Give it a break Ernie. I’ve been on the council. What did you learn about transportation, housing and job creation. And please be specific.
What issues did you that deal with education did you learn about?
What medical issues are you dealing with that makes you think you have Coronavirus?
Where are you being tested? What doctor has approved you for testing?
Bob
I went to Urgent Care to be tested. Doc said if I’m not showing any symptoms of a fever, cold, cough, etc I will not be tested. Furthermore the first two days are the critical ones. We are on our 8th day. As far as hanging out at Bars I don’t drink, neither do a few other council members, so the bar wouldn’t be my place of exposure you dick. Council members don’t waste your time going in to be tested.
You ask what did I learned? Why don’t you tell me what you learned BOZO. You spent many years on the council.
Translation: the Doc said Ernie Newton did need urgent care. He over-reacted. He incurred an unnecessary cost.
I went to two NLC events and I learned that they were not worth going to anymore.
The second one I went to was in Atlanta and there were a number of council members acting inappropriately with a potential vendor of the city. I returned reported it to the council President and made up my mind I would never go again.
Do you want to know more about what I learned???
Well- they won’t be able to accomplish anything but at least NOW they have an excuse as to why they are ineffective in doing good deeds for the citizens of the city!!!!! Does this mean Mario can’t get shit done through his minions as well?!!!
Cheers!!!!!
He looked good though- the other day outside his restaurant with a shovel in his hand tending to some dirt on his lot. Maybe he was looking for something that was lost like his political morals!
Staying at home or limiting outside activities is a neighbor-friendly and requested activity at this moment. It may change to a more formal and ordered ‘shelter in place’ form of quarantine. Of course it is the amount of testing that remains in question. More testing has been better throughout because it can tell so much about where the greatest dangers and challenges are active at this time, especially with regards to scarce resource allocation.
When the history of this time is written in the context of the ultimate spread and tapering of Coronavid-19 the failure to have enough testing materials as well as protocols in place by authorities will loom even larger than it does at this moment.
At least we know that more than one CC can have quiet time, without Council meetings or other official duties, to prepare a report for the people of their district to share with them the value of the thousands of dollars spent in DC. What did they learn of value that can be put into words, and later into action?
Lest we forget, we have closed Senior Centers locally, and many churches have cut back on meetings and services to adhere to social distancing, but what advice to neighbors about assisting the elderly, who may be infirm of wallet or body to get through the day? Where is a heartfelt or helpful informational message on how to relate to those who are otherwise alone, needy and perhaps less healthy today, in general. Perhaps you create a telephone tree (or 2020 electronic equivalent) to be in touch regularly with “the elderly couple or single” down the street? Time will tell.
Harvey Weintraub says:
March 11, 2020 at 7:00 pm
What about the CC members that just spent a week in DC, they were supposedly attending conferences with hundreds of others, they should be tested immediately.
These City Council member who did go to the conference should over to Bridgeport Hospital drive thru and get tested now, I’m sure they can get a note from their doctor and the City’s Health Department and that they are sheltering in place for the next 6 days.
Plus I’m sure that there were reception areas and hospitality suites were people were socializing even if they don’t drink.
You can’t get tested unless you have symptoms. First priority are people who are actually sick. Read the news, watch the news and learn what the real information IS!!
Ask Ernie.
Rich, again, this center is based on a physician’s order and a scheduled appointment, that’s the requirement. Are they sheltering in place since they became aware for 14 days?
Ernie, please share a copy of your report of what you learned at this NLC conference with Lennie so the OIB crowd can see what taxpayers are funding.
Bob, you know I love you like a play cousin, but like Ernie I thought your post was in bad taste. Was the city council going to DC less than prudent because of the current coronavirus pandemic, HELL YES and some may say IDIOTIC. This coronavirus Pandemic is very serious situation and it could be life threatening for those council members, their families, their friends and a myriad of others who had no idea that they were infected.
The fact that some may feel that they misused city money going to DC isn’t a reason to think that coronavirus is just dessert! I’ve said in this forum that the coronavirus is an air borne pathogen which makes it extremely dangerous and Americans have yet to give it the respect that it deserves just like Italy didn’t and now 2500 deaths later, it now respects how deadly it is. Who knows my brother they could have come into contact with someone you or I know and the consequences could be deadly. Bob, I’m not trying to admonish or excoriate you, just trying remind of the seriousness of the coronavirus or COVIP 19 and how easy it is to pass to others.
Don
I am not taking lightly Coronavirus but I am questioning is Ernie knows a single thing about it. Maybe he should have gone to a workshop on pathogens so that he could understand them and understand testing procedures. With no signs of the disease there should be no way that he is tested, and he wasn’t.
Bob
First of all AmyMarie had no business sharing shit with OIB she didn’t attend the conference. Secondly this information was shared with those who attend the conference. In order to be tested you must first show signs of the virus. Bob I don’t need you or anyone else to question what I do. I have a family many co-worker friends and I’m making sure I’m not caring this virus so other may catch it from me. Thank God this is my 9th day feeling fine. Out side of my allergies acting up. Bob I hope you realize it’s about saving lives. Please keep your jokes to yourself
Not only were those Council members possibly infected in DC,a few days later,they were all gathered at Testos kissing Mario’s ring,socializing with hundreds of others…Ernie,prayers that you or any of the others don’t test positive,and lets hope the city’s CC members aren’t the ones who bring Corona to Bpt…This could become a real issue…
Harvey
Thanks for your prayers. The council people who attended the National League Of Cities none of us are showing any signs of this Virus. We are waiting to hear what work shops these two individuals may have participated in. Havey i’m sure we didn’t bring this to Bridgeport remember cases of the Virus was here while we were in DC.
To Everyone who really cares about my well beings and other council persons. The works shops these individuals attended were not the ones I attended. Thanks Bob for always shooting from the hip.
Thank God for U.S businesses have taken the lead during this virus out-break because the bare bones Trump Admin. has been giving false info & has been down playing this pandemic from the start. Now as far as the political junkets to D.C are concerned, I found that when I used to go to them they were very informative & fun. You meet other legislators from throughout America, talk & learn some of the different things there city’s government do or don’t do. Different city or state government programs that are working for them, etc. Also you get a chance to meet your federal congressmen & their office staff members, ask questions & hear about up-coming policy’s, etc. that may affect our city & state. I met with GOP Chris Shays one year & asked him for help in getting federal monies to make the Bpt. Middle St. post office handi-cap accessible. I also met with the other 2 Dem. Ct. congressmen for the same reason. After about a year & a half, with continued help in contacting his office staff by our city council liason Tom White, we got the money from Chris Shays office! So yes these junkets can be very beneficial at times, all depending on what the council person try’s to get out of it. ***JUST SAYING***
Mojo, you said about the council’s trip to D.C., “very informative & fun. You meet other legislators from throughout America, talk & learn some of the different things there city’s government do or don’t do. Different city or state government programs that are working for them, etc. Also you get a chance to meet your federal congressmen & their office staff members, ask questions & hear about up-coming policy’s, etc. that may affect our city & state.” I really believe. I attended 4 conferences in D.C. as a member of the Bridgeport fire union executive board, it was the (IAFF) International Association of Fire Firefighters national Day On the Hill where we were there to lobby Congress for legislation concerning the fire service. Fairfield County’s congressman, Republican Chris Shay, was a great host, he met with us in his office and he listen and asked questions concerning our issues, we asked to co-sign on bills and if he couldn’t then would he support our bills and to ask other congress members for support. We all had our talking points and facts in our packet and we asked him to sign off on paper on what ever he agreed on and said that we would follow up with him. Shays gave us a full tour of the House and Senate, later that evening each State fire union had there own section of a meet and greet with finger food in the hotel ballroom where our delegation would meet other U.S. Representatives and Senators. We were able to bring back to our dues paying members what we accomplish.
City Council President Aidee Nieves issued this statement: “The Council members in attendance practiced measures to ensure their health and safety. Those Council members have shown no symptoms of COVID-19 but are taking precautionary steps to avoid contraction and spread of the virus by seeking professional advice from their Primary Care Physician and will take any further action as necessary if directed by medical professionals.” I didn’t see anywhere where Council President Nieves say anything about those council members sheltering in place for 14 days. Even if someone has the COVID-19 and they have been tested they still must be sheltering in place because there is no vaccine for COVID-19 but a main problem is how the silent spreaders are fueling the COVID-19 even if they are not sick.
Mel Brooks and son Max team up for coronavirus PSA
https://pagesix.com/2020/03/16/mel-brooks-and-son-max-team-up-for-coronavirus-psa/
You don’t shelter in place for 14 days unless you know you have the virus or medical signs of it, (tested). Lets stop trying to make our city reps as not human, I leave the house everyday with gloves on & keep my 6 ft. distance from people, also wash my hands before & after going out. Your better off going out & getting some air & preparing to get the things you’ll need. I go early in the A.M to the stores should I really need something but its still a crap-shoot weather you catch this virus or not? Shit happens! ***JUST SAYING***
Mojo, what you are doing is “sheltering in place.”
Mojo, STOP THAT MISINFORMATION. You shelter in place when you were in the presence of a person that has tested positive for COVID 19 or Coronavirus. This Pandemic is to deadly for anyone to put out misinformation.
If “sheltering in place” is wearing gloves when I go out for air or to shop, washing hands often before leaving & returning & keeping my safe distance from people then that’s what I’am doing. However, its just a play in words & how its interpreted and has nothing to do with giving misinformation. I’am not an authority on the virus; just a philosopher on life as I’ve seen & experienced it. ***JUST SAYING***
Mojo, “Quarantine” is where you can’t go anywhere.
No shit!