Yolo County law-enforcement agencies say they plan to take an information-based approach to the curfew measure Gov. Gavin Newsom announced this week in response to a surge in coronavirus cases.
“Our main posture is education,” Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel said Friday following a conference call among city and county leaders, including Dr. Amy Sisson, Yolo County’s public health officer.
“She’s expressing concerns, like the state is, that we’re seeing increased positivity rates, and it’s not just due to increased testing,” Pytel said. “Obviously, this (the curfew) was done to reduce the spread there.”
Effective Saturday, the limited stay-at-home order calls for citizens in California’s most-restrictive purple tier — which Yolo County reverted to on Tuesday — to remain indoors from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. unless performing essential duties.
Its intent is to discourage late-night social gatherings, such as holiday festivities and other parties, that tend to fuel COVID’s spread.
“The virus is spreading at a pace we haven’t seen since the start of this pandemic and the next several days and weeks will be critical to stop the surge. We are sounding the alarm,” Newsom said in a statement announcing the curfew. “It is crucial that we act to decrease transmission and slow hospitalizations before the death count surges. We’ve done it before and we must do it again.”
Newsom’s order is set to expire on Dec. 21.
Pytel said the law-enforcement chiefs participating in Friday’s conference call developed a game plan that largely mirrors the enforcement policies established back in March, when the pandemic first took hold: dealing with violations primarily through education regarding the county’s COVID guidelines.
More egregious offenders, however, can expected to be dealt with as nuisance situations, while those out committing crimes face additional charges for violating a county order and looting, defined as stealing during a state of emergency.
“The reality is, we haven’t had to do much enforcement,” particularly when it comes to parties and other large gatherings, Pytel said. “It’s really very tame compared to previous years, and we’re not seeing huge numbers or massive outbreaks.”
Still, while Davis’ coronavirus infection numbers have remained relatively low, “we have to remain vigilant as we approach the upcoming holidays,” Pytel said.
Those seeking to report violations that don’t involved an in-progress emergency should do so through the Police Department’s business line, 530-747-5400, or by email to policeweb@cityofdavis.org.
Lt. Matt Davis, spokesman for the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office, said his agency also will continue to enforce COVID-related guidelines as it has throughout the pandemic — emphasizing education over punishment.
“This is only going to work with voluntary compliance from the public. That’s the goal,” said Davis, who has fielded several calls from citizens with curfew-related concerns, such as whether they’ll be pulled over while driving during curfew hours.
“No, obviously. That’s not what this is about,” Davis said. Instead, county residents wishing to report pandemic-related concerns will continue to be directed to code-enforcement services via an online portal established for that purpose: https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/a2796db431b14d9c97086fc6a7172262
Likewise, the California Highway Patrol noted the voluntary nature of the curfew, imposed “with the goal that people will self-regulate their behavior, protect themselves, and go about only the ‘essential’ activities during those hours,” CHP spokeswoman Fran Clader said.
“The mission of the CHP is unchanged. CHP officers will continue to patrol throughout California and use their sound professional judgment to conduct enforcement stops for violations of the law based upon probable cause,” Clader said.
She added: “The CHP does not make arrests based on race, ethnicity, gender, political affiliation, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or for any reason other than violations of the law based on probable cause. As always, CHP officers will have the discretion to take appropriate action when a violation is observed.”
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene.
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