Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Supervisor Brandau on His COVID-19 Diagnosis and Attending Maskless Rallies
TLBBHMAP3-U010ALB5ANM-348f959abae2-512-300x300-1
By Jim Jakobs, Digital Producer
Published 5 years ago on
November 6, 2020

Share

Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau spoke with GV Wire℠ Thursday night just hours after learning he had tested positive for COVID-19.

As first reported by GV Wire℠, Fresno County officials said Thursday that supervisors and employees were quarantining at home after “someone” in the main administration building tested positive for the coronavirus.
Now, Brandau confirms he’s the “someone” that may have exposed many others going as far back as Sunday, Nov. 1
What follows is a synopsis of GV Wire’s interview with Brandau, in which he discussed his early response to the coronavirus pandemic and his early resistance to wearing a mask. (The full video is above.)

Q&A: Not Wearing a Mask

GV Wire℠: “What do you say to folks that say, well, you know, going back to the beginning of the pandemic, you were seen at some rallies without a mask. Some people on the other side might say, ‘Oh, well, that’s Brandau. He wasn’t taking this seriously. What would you say to somebody that comes up to you with that question after this?

Steve Brandau

“I was a little sketchy on the mask. I’m willing to admit.”Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau

Brandau:  “Yeah, that’s a great question, because, you know, there’s been a lot of going back and forth about the masks and so just for the GV Wire℠ audience to know, I wear a mask every time I go outside. Now, I go into a store, I go into a restaurant, I wear the mask just like everybody else has. I’ve observed that ever since the governor put us under a mandatory mask wearing. And so before that, I was a little sketchy on the mask. I’m willing to admit, and I’m not still I’m not that guy who’s going to tell the world what COVID-19 is doing. I think COVID-19 is doing whatever it wants to do. So, but I have been so I caught COVID-19 following wearing the mask. And so it was not during a time where I was not wearing a mask. Whenever I caught it, whoever I caught it from, it’s during a time frame that I’m wearing that mask just like everybody else. So I don’t know much more to say about that than I’ve been wearing the mask and still caught COVID-19.”

Q&A: Any Changes to Seating During the Board of Supes Meetings

As GV Wire℠ Senior Reporter David Taub points out, the Supervisors have not been wearing masks during their regular meetings. They’ve also been sitting in their normal seats without separating. Supervisor Sal Quintero has participated in the Board’s meetings remotely since March.

Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting, Tuesday November 3. No masks, no plexiglass. (Courtesy/Fresno County)

GV Wire℠: Do you think it goes beyond the next several weeks? Do you think there is going to be systemic changes in the chamber itself as far as social distancing goes or face mask requirements inside? Because you guys have been sitting in the same seats the whole time, correct?”

Brandau: “You know, that’s really hard to say. I don’t know that it will go that far. I’m not sure the impact. I mean, that’s a lot of strong personalities getting together and agreeing on something. And so far, the overall consensus is to hold meetings just like always. So we have another board meeting (November 17th) that will probably be impacted. We might have to change the date. I’m not sure that’s completely up to the chairman. I’ll wait to hear his thoughts on that. He’s entirely in charge of that meeting, but I don’t know that we’ll have masks required. Most of us wear masks into the building and then we sit down like myself. I wear a mask into the building. I sit down, I take off my mask, and from then on, I don’t have a mask on and I’m probably without fudging, I’m probably about five feet away from my colleagues on each side. It’s not quite six feet – I don’t think. There’s no Plexiglas. I don’t know if there’ll be any changes made. That’ll be up to a decision by my colleagues and myself.”

Q&A: COVID-19 Messaging

GV Wire℠: Do you think your messaging with COVID-19 will change as a result of your diagnosis?”

Brandau: “Actually, my messaging changed probably about two months ago. And I could show you evidence. I mean, we even did some GV Wire℠ interviews. But so, you know, when COVID-19 came out, there was a very political and a lot of back and forth and people were using the virus to make political statements. And I got really tired of that throughout the summertime. And I really started to examining some of the things that I’d been saying about COVID-19 and things that others had been saying. So I just decided, you know, I don’t know what the heck is going on with COVID-19. I’m not a specialist. Why should I? You know what? I’m a county supervisor and a carpet cleaner. So I quit making a lot of heavy pronouncements about COVID-19, and I’ve changed my message and I probably will not change again. And here’s what it is. Steve Brandau doesn’t know that much about COVID-19, but I don’t think a lot of other people do either. And almost everybody who’s made a big, solid prediction has been wrong on both sides and every side of the COVID-19 argument. I mean, we saw a spike in numbers during extreme shutdown. Then we saw an opening and we’re seeing another spike in numbers now delayed by about a month. So all of the predictors, everybody who is making prophecies and predictions, in my opinion, I think that the virus is doing whatever it wants to do. You know, we’ve seen countries who’ve shut down the whole entire country and they’re still reaching peak numbers right now again. So I’m past the point where I feel like I’m an expert. I feel like I don’t really know that much about COVID-19, but I don’t think there’s a lot of experts out there. I think we’re all on a learning curve together. And unfortunately, that virus is you know, it’s working its way through our system as a nation and as the world. I’ve been saying another thing that I’ve been saying is that COVID-19 is fairly contagious. I’ll admit that. It’s fairly contagious. A lot of people will catch COVID-19. I don’t believe it’s that deadly. I don’t expect to die from COVID-19. You never know. I’ve got a couple of other conditions that don’t work well with the virus. But but I don’t think, you know, in general, it’s proven to me it’s not like a major killer, but it is pretty contagious. And I feel sorry for everybody and their families who’s had to deal with it.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

UP NEXT

Fresno Protesters Rally Against Trump Administration on ‘No Kings Day’

Israel and Iran Bombard Each Other, Trump Says He Can ‘Easily’ End Conflict

10 hours ago

Trump Vetoed an Israeli Plan to Kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, US Officials Say

10 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Fatal DUI Crash on Trimmer Springs Road

A man is dead and three others are injured following a rollover crash Saturday evening on Trimmer Springs Road that investigators say was ca...

8 hours ago

8 hours ago

Fresno Man Arrested in Fatal DUI Crash on Trimmer Springs Road

Mourners pray during the funeral of a Palestinian killed in what the Gaza health ministry says was Israeli fire near a distribution center in Rafah, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled
8 hours ago

Israeli Military Kills 41 People in Gaza, Medics Say

Bullet holes mark the front door of Minnesota state Senator John Hoffman, who was shot alongside his wife, Yvette, in what is believed to be an attack by 57-year-old suspect Vance Luther Boelter, who is also the lead suspect in the shooting deaths of senior Democratic state assemblywoman Melissa Hortman and her husband, Marc, in Champlin, Minnesota, U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Tim Evans
10 hours ago

Manhunt for Gunman Who Shot Two Minnesota Lawmakers Enters Second Day

Israelis take shelter at the side of a highway as siren sounds following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in central Israel June 15, 2025. REUTERS/Oren Ben Hakoon
10 hours ago

Israel and Iran Bombard Each Other, Trump Says He Can ‘Easily’ End Conflict

President Donald Trump speaks as he attends a military parade to commemorate the U.S. Army's 250th Birthday, on the day of his 79th birthday, in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
10 hours ago

Trump Vetoed an Israeli Plan to Kill Iran’s Supreme Leader, US Officials Say

12 hours ago

Newsom Wanted To Fast-Track the Delta Tunnel Project. The Legislature Slowed the Flow

14 hours ago

Five Weeknight Dishes: Seven Ingredients or Fewer, Because Summer

14 hours ago

Big Fresno Fair Unveils Second Wave of 2025 Concert Acts

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend