Purple tier means more COVID business restrictions in SLO County. How will they be enforced?
Many San Luis Obispo County businesses had to once again halt indoor services or limit capacity this week as the county moved back to California’s most restrictive tier of reopening due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
All businesses will now also have to close by 10 p.m., according to new guidance issued Thursday.
Failure to do so could result in fines.
As of Monday, San Luis Obispo County is once again in the purple tier of California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy, meaning that coronavirus transmission is considered widespread.
Throughout the pandemic, county and city officials have been enforcing some coronavirus restrictions, but in the purple tier, even more are in place.
Restaurants, gyms and places of worship — which had been allowed to operate indoors at limited capacity when San Luis Obispo County was in the less restrictive red tier — had to shift back to outdoor-only operations.
Other businesses, such as retail stores, were required to decrease indoor capacity.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that due to the severity of coronavirus transmission in 40 counties throughout California, including San Luis Obispo County, businesses would be given only one day, rather than three days, to comply with newly assigned tiers.
San Luis Obispo County officials, however, said they would give businesses until next week to comply before they would begin enforcing new restrictions.
“We understand that businesses can’t always turn on a dime,” county Public Health officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said Wednesday. “Though these changes need to be implemented as soon as possible, we are not going to take enforcement action this week.”
Borenstein said the county has been working with local businesses to ensure they are adapting as quickly as possible.
Enforcement will begin next week, but what will that look like this time around?
How coronavirus citations are issued
According to Borenstein, the county tries to always educate business owners and the general public or provide a warning before they issue citations.
That has been the case locally throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
“With our businesses we always take the first approach of trying to educate,” Borenstein said. “It’s why we’re giving our businesses a bit more time to comply, but we have issued cease-and-desist orders.”
In March, San Luis Obispo County created a coronavirus hotline for people to report businesses or individuals who were not complying with state and county guidelines.
According to the county, if a business received two or more complaints, the county or city in which it’s located will call the business and complete a site visit. If the business is found to be noncompliant, a warning letter will be sent and another site visit will be conducted.
If a business still isn’t following guidelines, it will be issued a direct order and eventually a temporary cease-and-desist or restraining order, according to the county website.
Individual cities within the county may vary slightly in how they enforce coronavirus violations.
Borenstein said the county and cities typically do not have the resources to scout out large gatherings and individuals who are not following state orders.
However, she said in some areas that have shown to be hotbeds for coronavirus, such as San Luis Obispo, the city is taking extra measures to stop person-to-person spread.
“The San Luis Obispo City Police Department in conjunction with Cal Poly have actually been doing that sort of thing when they hear word of a party or hear the party. They are absolutely intervening,” Borenstein said. “They have issued a lot of citations.”
The city of San Luis Obispo has issued more than 150 individual citations related to parties and public gatherings, according to a city report.
Personal indoor gatherings, which have also resulted in coronavirus outbreaks locally, are harder to enforce, Borenstein said.
“It is quite difficult to impact that most risky of behaviors — indoor gatherings where they can’t necessarily be seen or heard,” Borenstein said. “When we learn about them, we will reach out to an enforcement entity. Sometimes, it’s after the fact and we try to educate or issue a (warning).
Where are COVID-19 complaints in SLO County?
Between March 24 and Nov. 13, San Luis Obispo County received 3,690 complaints of noncompliance through the county enforcement line, according to a county report.
About 22% of those complaints were made in Paso Robles and 21% were made in San Luis Obispo — accounting for the two largest cities in San Luis Obispo County, and the two with the most local coronavirus cases.
Atascadero complaints made up about 12%. Complaints for other areas throughout the county made up less than 10% each of the total complaints.
Complaints that fall within city jurisdiction are passed along to city law enforcement.
Borenstein said the county is in communication with cities and knows they have made compliance checks and issued many administrative citations.
For example, the city of San Luis Obispo has made more than 535 business compliance checks or contacts, a city report said.
The county enforces regulations via the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office, the county Department of Planning & Building’s Code Enforcement section and the county Public Health Department’s Environmental Health Services division.
So far in November, sheriff’s deputies have conducted around 229 business compliance checks. All of the businesses were reportedly in compliance or voluntarily agreed to comply without further interference.
Meanwhile, county code enforcement officials inspected 930 businesses between July and November, according to the county. Of those, 101 were issued warnings for noncompliance.
The Environmental Health Services division also called, conducted tele-consultations, surveyed and completed virtual inspections across several business sectors to ensure compliance and let businesses know about changes to regulations. the report said.
Future coronavirus restrictions
In addition to the existing restrictions, Newsom announced Thursday that all California counties in the purple tier, including San Luis Obispo County, will be subject to a nightly curfew beginning Saturday.
The curfew, which affects 94% of state residents, will cover only nonessential activities and businesses and will be in place nightly from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. People will still be allowed to perform essential tasks such as walking dogs, picking up prescriptions at pharmacies or getting takeout at restaurants, state officials explained.
San Luis Obispo County had submitted an adjudication form to the state in an attempt to avoid purple-tier placement, but the request was denied.
Borenstein said the county will continue to follow state guidelines.
According to Borenstein, the county will not likely face more business closures, such as the closure of indoor retail services. However, if the situation worsens, that can’t be entirely ruled out.
“Everything is open for consideration as things potentially get to a place where we need to have more dramatic actions,” Borenstein said.
How to report a COVID-19 code violation
To report violations of coronavirus-related orders meant to limit the spread of COVID-19, call the San Luis Obispo County COVID Enforcement hotline at 805-788-2222 or email covid-compliance@co.slo.ca.us.
This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
