Coronavirus Update: Santa Rosa Police Cracking Down On Shelter-In-Place Violators
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- Santa Rosa police chief Ray Navarro took to social media Friday to warn residents and business owners that his officers were beginning to issue citations for violations of the city and county's shelter-in-place order.
Navarro said while the majority of local residents and businesses were complying with the order, several were not.
"We appreciate the majority of business and individuals who have been complying with the shelter-in-place order, but we continue to observe some community members who are disregarding the health order," he said on a Twitter video. "Our approach has been to educate, but it is now necessary to issue citations."
Navarro said he has a special enforcement team that has been responding to reports of violations.
Within the last week, the police chief said, his officers have issued 40 warning to businesses, two warning to individuals and handed out 5 misdemeanor violations to other individuals.
The citations come with fines up to $1,000 and up to 6 months in jail.
As of Thursday night, the county had 172 cases of the disease - 87 active cases and 83 recovered patients. There were two deaths and 4,200 people have been tested.
Navarro also reminded local residents that Sonoma County's order requiring public face coverings went into effect early Friday.
WATCH: @Chief_Navarro explains SRPD's shift from education to active enforcement of the Shelter in Place Order. For more info about the SIP Order: https://t.co/wdeQtfjd2D. pic.twitter.com/lXk4W7NnwK
— Santa Rosa Police (@SantaRosaPolice) April 17, 2020
The order from the Health Department requires people to wear a facial covering before going into an indoor facility outside of their home, any enclosed space or an outdoor space where they can't keep six feet of social distance.
Employers in essential businesses are required to see that their employees, if they're not working from home, are following the order.
Exceptions to the order include driving alone or with household members in a vehicle unless the windows are lowered to speak to a first responder or other service worker, including those at drive-through windows.
Many in the county have heard about the order and ran out to buy some masks.
"It's kind of hard to find. We went looking for it in there. We just can't find them anywhere," said Luis Pacheco from Sonoma.
The Health Department says the face covering doesn't necessarily have to be a mask and urges the public to not buy medical grade surgical or N-95 masks, which should be reserved for health care workers.
A facial covering could be any fabric or cloth the covers the mouth and nose.
"I think it's a great idea. We should have been doing this the entire time," said Robert Stevens from Petaluma.