The Bay Area Authorities’ Diverse Enforcement Methods of COVID-19 Regulations
After the announcement of the troubling rise in the Bay Area’s coronavirus cases last week, the state has imposed another lockdown to prevent further infections from seeping across the region. While several counties prepare themselves to adhere to the revised rules, authorities in the varying commands would enforce stay-at-home orders using different establishment methods.
Several local police officers attempt to deploy additional men in crowded places to monitor and maintain proper social distancing guidelines. For the state’s businesses, meanwhile, any enterprise violating the new COVID-19 measures would have to pay fines for offenses caused against implemented health standards in the Bay Area. The previously mentioned tactic heavily depends on complaints filed by witnesses, who see premises resuming operations without following the imposed ordinance.
On Friday, San Francisco declared its intentions to elevate the city’s enforcement tasks and focus on local authorities to implement and observe stay-at-home orders announced by the nation. To make this happen, the Office of Economic Workforce and Development provided financial aid to the pilot program called Creative Cops. The said initiative exists to monitor over street closure spots by dispatching additional police officers into those areas. Additionally, the plan’s purpose is to control human traffic in communities suffering from alarming COVID-19 case spikes and encourage responsible adherence to the protocols in high-risk regions.
Moreover, San Francisco’s Community Education and Response Team would play its role in ensuring business operators and owners become aware of the health regulations and follow them at all times. The said organization’s purpose is to handle complaints concerning coronavirus rules violations and keep the municipality free from another possible surge of infections. The group would do its duties by mostly relying on citizens’ complaints filed on their official website.
Contra Costa’s Implementation of Stay-at-Home Orders
In the first week of November, the District Attorney’s Office in the county of Contra Costa has received at least 100 health complaints regarding residents disregarding COVID-19 protocols within the district. In response to the reported concerns, the DA created a task force to review the coronavirus-related grievances sent to the office. According to DA’s office’s representative spokesperson Scott Alonso, the office acts on behalf of the Contra Costa Health Services to help keep an eye out for anyone trying to break the rules. As of late, the DA’s office has hired two senior investigators to inspect complaints and has established an alliance with other county departments to make up the task force.
Alonso has reported to the public that they caught several establishments not abiding by the established protocols since November 19. The violators consist of two dental groups, four different gym spots, and a barbershop – the previously mentioned businesses got fined with sums ranging from $100 to $1000 depending on the severity of their offenses. The premises include Antioch Dental Group, Pleasant Hill’s Sharp Barber and Diablo Cross, and Fitness 19 gyms located in both Concord and Danville.
Based on Alonso’s reports, he explained that the two fitness centers still offered indoor services to their patrons despite the latest prohibition of such amenities, resulting in them getting fined for the delinquency. Additionally, the dental office and the barbershop got mandated to pay the penalty fees when local authorities saw several of the establishments’ staff members and customers not wearing masks inside the premises.
Alameda and Marin Counties’ Establishment of Health and Safety Protocols
Meanwhile, the Alameda County Department of Public Health has also notified its citizens ahead of time with stay-at-home orders last Friday. The department stated that both the district’s police force and the sheriff would observe the adherence to the most recent legislation. Any violators would face penalties punishable by detainment, fine, or both, depending on the severity of the committed misconduct.
In Marin County, the district’s spokesperson Laine Hendricks has requested people to notify the authorities of businesses breaking coronavirus restrictions. Additionally, the region has its independent system for monitoring every municipality under its scope. For example, San Rafael is responsible for its COVID-19 business implementations. Its health department, on the other hand, has jurisdiction over the rest of unincorporated locations.
