California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday announced he was imposing a curfew on most of the state because of an increase in COVID-19 cases.
“Non-essential work and gatherings must stop from 10pm-5am in counties in the purple tier,” the Democrat said in a statement, referring to a color scheme state officials are using to depict the risk level for each county.
Several sheriffs will not enforce the harsh measure, or will not make enforcement a priority.
“The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office will not be determining—including entering any home or business—compliance with, or enforcing compliance of, any health or emergency orders related to curfews, staying at home, Thanksgiving or other social gatherings inside or outside the home, maximum occupancy, or mask mandates,” Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said in a statement.
The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said it wouldn’t be enforcing the curfew order.
“Since the first Stay at Home Order was issued in March of this year, we have focused on education and voluntary compliance, with criminal enforcement measures being an extreme last resort,” added Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva in a statement. “We trust in the community and rely on people to assess risk and take precautions as appropriate.”
Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes said that the department is reviewing the action.
“At this time, due to the need to have deputies available for emergency calls for service, deputies will not be responding to requests for face-coverings or social gatherings-only enforcement,” he said.
“I know what Gavin Newsom has said before. He’s told us in California, even if we’re out to eat in the last month, we’d have to wear a mask, take a bite, and put the mask back on. I think he lost a lot of credibility with Californians,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told reporters in Washington this week.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, also issued a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew that will remain in effect for the next three weeks.
“Almost all counties are seeing more cases and more healthcare use that could threaten the medical system if they continue,” DeWine said in a statement.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s health secretary, said during a briefing that the test positivity rate had increased from below 3 percent weeks ago to 5.6 percent in a recent seven-day stretch. There’s also been a 63.6 percent increase in hospitalizations for COVID-19 over the past two weeks, he added.
“That is why we certainly need to be laser-focused on all things we can do collectively across the state,” he said, blaming a rise in indoor gatherings due to the colder weather, more travel, and events like Halloween and sports games for the increase in cases and hospitalizations.
According to California health officials, the number of intensive care beds available in the state is 1,926, a decrease of 47 from the prior day. About 1,250 COVID-19 patients are in such beds statewide.
The stay at home order in March was effective in combating the spread of the virus, according to Ghaly, who said he supported Newsom reimposing it.
“Why are we doing this? And what are we hoping to gain? It’s really to avoid further restrictions. We know, and we’ve seen in the past, that COVID goes from zero to 60 miles per hour very quickly, that we’re in a place today, but that can rapidly change—maybe not statewide, maybe just in a handful of counties,” he said. “But further restrictions is what we hope to avoid.”
