California s COVID-19 enforcement strategy: Education over citations | National heraldmailmedia.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from heraldmailmedia.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. Nearly six months since Gov. Gavin Newsom promised to target businesses that are flagrantly violating public health orders to control the spread of COVID-19, California regulators have issued just 424 citations and suspended two business licenses as of Monday, according to data from 10 state regulatory and law enforcement agencies.
Instead of strictly penalizing businesses for violations, the Democratic governor and businessman with a portfolio of wineries, bars and restaurants under the brand name PlumpJack, has relied on educating owners about infectious disease mandates. State agencies have contacted establishments primarily by email, sending them 1.3 million messages since July 1 to urge them to comply with state and local public health rules.
As a result, some counties enforce the rules and some don’t. And because the state hasn’t stepped in to assist with adequate enforcement, some local officials say, businesses are often free to ignore the rules, allowing the virus to run rampant.
“It would be nice to have some air support from the governor,” said Nevada City Councilman Doug Fleming, who backs the city’s new ordinance imposing fines for violating the state mask mandate. “He’s kind of forcing local jurisdictions to enforce his rules without any air support.”
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California is experiencing a surge of coronavirus cases as never before, setting records almost daily for infections and deaths. Hospitals across the state are running dangerously low on intensive care unit beds, with the state reporting 2.5% ICU capacity as of Monday.
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California’s governor on Thursday imposed a curfew on social gatherings and other non-essential activities in one of the most intrusive of the restrictions being ordered across the country to curb an alarming surge in novel coronavirus infections.
The stay-at-home order will go into effect from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. each day, starting Saturday night and ending on the morning of Dec. 21, covering 41 of California’s 58 counties and the vast majority of its population, Governor Gavin Newsom said.
“The virus is spreading at a pace we haven’t seen since the start of this pandemic, and the next several days and weeks will be critical to stop the surge,” Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement announcing the measure a week before the Thanksgiving holiday.