SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KRON) – Not wearing a face covering or keeping your distance from others in public could cost you $500.
Up until now, compliance with the health orders about masks and physical distancing and business protocols have been based on the honor system.
That’s about to change as the Board of Supervisors at this hour is considering a new ordinance that could mean fines and other action.
As compliance with health orders that require the wearing of masks and social distancing is waning amid a surge of new cases, Santa Clara County may be about to crack down on those who don’t comply, says Supervisor Dave Cortese.
“If you put some teeth behind the ordinance perhaps that gives people pause to think to comply rather than not comply,” Cortese said.
A proposed new ordinance before supervisors Tuesday calls for fines of up to $500 for not wearing a face covering in public.
The action comes amid thousands of complaints about non-compliance with health orders and growing evidence violations are contributing to the recent spike in new cases and deaths.
“Most of the complaints and observations we get from residents directed to the Board of Supervisors are real,” Cortese said.
Until now, most of the thousands of complaints about non-compliance have resulted in a visit from police or the D.A.’s office but few citations or charges.
Businesses flouting health orders could be fined as much as $5,000.
“Businesses can just be shut down, construction sites could be shut down, that’s happened in the past, restaurants could be shut down, people who are doing things indoors that they shouldn’t be doing, salons for example could be shut down,” Cortese said.
The ordnance would crack down on businesses that don’t report positive cases which complicates contact tracing and the lack of testing by large health care providers.
Amid growing evidence voluntary compliance is not enough, stricter enforcement is needed, says Cortese.
“You know 70 or 80 percent compliance is not good enough, we need everyone to comply or we’re not going to get through this,” Cortese said.
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