Some cities struggle with how best to enforce mask rules

Yolo County and Woodland have asked for voluntary compliance

Whether it’s through citation or education, some communities across California are struggling with how to put some enforcement heft behind their efforts to get citizens to abide by orders requiring them to wear masks in public during the coronavirus pandemic.

When non- uniformed staff or volunteers are tasked, some have faced pushback, even threats. But officials have grappled with whether it’s appropriate to devote law enforcement’s time, resource and personnel to the effort.

The bottom line: Despite definitive scientific evidence that shows masks can stem the spread of the virus — plus state, city and county orders making it a misdemeanor to be maskless in public and endless, sometimes emotional, pleas from public health officials who are

begging residents to comply — some people still aren’t getting the message.

It’s not a majority, most officials said, but enough to cause alarm, particularly with the pandemic pushing into its most severe and deadliest wave yet.

In Pasadena, officials tried enlisting the help of volunteers to hand out masks and educate the public. The hate mail started to flow as soon as the program was announced.

In Sacramento County, public officials indicated they would be fining or arresting violators. However, community pushback and statements from law enforcement officials that they would not enforce public mask wearing basically killed those ideas.

Yolo County officials have taken no action, other than recommending people wear masks while in public.

Last Tuesday during a meeting of the Woodland City Council, Councilman Tom Stallard pointed to Sacramento and other cities, which had attempted mandatory mask wearing, showing it doesn’t work.

Stallard basically said people need to take personal responsibility for protecting others.

However, infection rates within Yolo County and Woodland have continued to climb. As of Friday afternoon, there were 204 new infections — a record number since the outbreak of the pandemic — to bring to 5,979 cases. There are 2,420 people diagnosed in Woodland, which was 78 higher than a day earlier.

There are currently 29 people in hospital countywide.

The increase in cases is being attributed to people who got together over Thanksgiving. And with Christmas and New Year holidays rapidly approaching, it’s feared there will be even more infections, probably with another surge seen by the end of January.

Woodland’s council will get another update on the pandemic this Tuesday.

Meanwhile, in Lancaster, failing to wear a mask has been an infraction since March, Mayor Rex Parris said during an interview.

There were problems from the very start, he said, “because you had the crazies come and protest without their masks. And I wanted

them all cited, but the Sheriff’s Department and city manager persuaded me that if we did that, we’d have 10,000 the next weekend. So we were soft on the enforcement, but now we have thousands of people dying because these ( expletive) won’t put their masks on.”

Earlier this week, Parris said the council made it a misdemeanor to be out in public without a mask on, telling the Sheriff’s Department to “be unrelenting” in ticketing the maskless scofflaws.

“As far as I’m concerned, anybody out in public not wearing a mask is a domestic terrorist and should be treated as such,” Parris said. “We are now crossing the threshold: More Americans will die from this virus than in World War II.”

It’s technically already a misdemeanor to be in public without a mask in the city of Los Angeles, but officials have stuck to their educationfirst approach.

“Our enforcement is focused primarily on noncompliant businesses where people gather,” said Harrison Wollman, a spokesman for Mayor Eric Garcetti. “For both individuals and businesses, our approach has always been to lead with education, encouragement, and outreach, which most often results in voluntary compliance.”

There’s been pushback in Orange County, as well, where Sheriff Don Barnes announced his 1,460 deputies will not be enforcing the governor’s order.

Barnes noted in an interview Tuesday that he feels strongly about the need to socially distance and wear masks to battle the deadly pandemic, but said he just can’t criminally enforce it without things turning ugly.

“You can’t arrest your way through a pandemic,” he said, believing that compliance is a matter of personal responsibility.

A legal scholar contends that coronavirus- related restrictions don’t violate anyone’s constitutional rights in light of an often deadly virus.

“There is no constitutional right not to wear a mask if the government orders them to wear a mask,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, in a telephone interview.

“I think ( not enforcing) sends a terrible message,” Chemerinsky said.