Save the 911 calls for real emergencies, folks.
That’s the message from the Davis Police Department, whose dispatchers receive occasional reports of groups congregating at local parks and sport courts in apparent violation of ongoing social distancing and shelter-in-place protocols meant to curb the coronavirus spread.
The city announced Thursday that all play structures, exercise equipment, water fountains and sports courts are now closed, given staff unavailability to adequately sanitized those areas.
The gatherings were “creating a bit of anxiety for a lot of residents that are passively trying to use those areas,” Police Chief Darren Pytel said. “We have a lot of passionate people in town, which is to be expected — this is a very serious situation.”
But the 911 system is intended for urgent police matters, Pytel added. An exception would be instances of someone intentionally causing others to be exposed by deliberately coughing in another person’s face or on grocery-store produce, for example.
Otherwise, coronavirus-related concerns should be directed to the police department by email at policeweb@cityofdavis.org or the non-emergency line, 530-747-5400. Reports will be assessed to determine whether they require an immediate response.
Many police employees are working from home and can promptly answer emailed questions or complaints, Pytel said. The department also regularly communicates with outside agencies, such as the Yolo County Health Department, to get residents and businesses the information they need.
That’s included queries from some merchants who are asking, am I essential? If not, what can I do? For non-essential businesses, the county recently loosened restrictions by allowing them to process online and phone orders for home deliveries even though their physical locations remain closed.
Other modification requests were a strict no-go — including one local church seeking to perform a “drive-in” Easter service for its congregants, who would sit in their vehicles in the parking lot while a sermon played via radio.
County health officials have cautioned that “even family members in close quarters, such as a car, can cause the disease to spread,” Pytel said.
Park playgrounds also should be avoided, Pytel added, as city staff “just don’t have the ability to go in and do proper sanitation for all the areas in town.”
Meanwhile, the city continues to experience good compliance with the shelter-in-place orders, which the county issued on March 19 followed by a statewide order the following day. Yolo County’s order is now extended from April 7 to May 1.
At first, police continued to receive reports of large party gatherings, “although they have seemed to stop,” Pytel said.
With the approach of what would have been UC Davis’ Picnic Day celebration on April 18 — now canceled — police are now addressing concerns that students may still want to hold festivities that day.
“We’re going to be working on getting the word out that that’s not OK,” Pytel said. While the focus will be education-oriented, “if we have to deal with any egregious violations, we are prepared to issue citations” punishable by fines or jail time.
With the federal government releasing sobering figures this week about COVID-19’s projected course, “now is the time we really need to dig deep and obey the shelter-in-place orders as this continues to go on,” Pytel said. “Eventually, we’ll get some normalcy back, but things are going to be different for a while.”
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene.