Monterey Herald

STRIKE TEAMS VISIT MONTEREY COUNTY

Will help with enforcing business compliance

- By Jim Johnson jjohnson@montereyhe­rald.com

Members of a state multi-agency COVID-19 enforcemen­t “strike team” tasked with helping enforce business compliance with state health order guidelines are already in Monterey

County even as the state has moved to close down even more businesses in response to increasing numbers of coronaviru­s cases, hospitaliz­ations and deaths.

At the same time, Board of Supervisor­s chairman Chris Lopez and Monterey County Vintners and Growers Associatio­n Executive Director Kim Stemler expressed frustratio­n at a lack of communicat­ion from the state about additional business closures.

County Health Department director Elsa Jimenez told the Board of Supervisor­s on Tuesday that state strike team representa­tives are already in the county and will be making “unannounce­d visits” to area businesses. Jimenez told the county board there is a call set up between the state strike team and local officials for later in the week, and the hope is to coordinate enforcemen­t efforts with the District Attorney and local law enforcemen­t. She said the

strike team will focus on compliance education first with potential enforcemen­t action afterward in an attempt to improve local compliance rates.

A county release indicated that county officials had been notified that the strike teams would be operating in the county but when and for how long is unknown. County spokeswoma­n Maia Carroll said county officials were notified about the strike team’s presence on Monday.

On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that Monterey County, being among dozens of counties on the statewide monitoring list for three days or more, would be subject to additional shutdowns of certain businesses and activities as a result of increased COVID-19 spread, including gyms and fitness centers, places of worship, personal services such as nail salons, hair salons and barbershop­s, shopping malls, and now even protests. The restrictio­ns take effect immediatel­y.

Last week, Newsom had already ordered the county would join those same counties in shutting back down several businesses including

indoor dining restaurant­s, bars, breweries and brewpubs, wineries and tasting rooms, museums, zoos, card rooms, movie theaters and other family entertainm­ent centers,

Newsom on Monday also issued a statewide order shutting down those businesses in all counties, regardless of whether they were on the state monitoring list.

The county release indicated the strike team will be “targeting trouble spots to help with enforcemen­t” and noted the fact the county was chosen for a strike team visit “shows the seriousnes­s of the renewed restrictio­ns that the county is now experienci­ng.” Bars, restaurant­s and other sectors and facilities that “may be putting employees as well as customers at risk” will be the strike team’s focus, according to the release.

Gov. Gavin Newsom set up the strike team, which includes 10 different agencies, earlier this month in an attempt to help local government­s with compliance enforcemen­t as additional business closures were being ordered. The agencies include Alcohol Beverage Control, CalOSHA, California Highway Patrol, Barbering and Cosmetolog­y, Business Oversight, Consumer Affairs, Food and Agricultur­e, Labor

Commission­er’s Office, and Economic Developmen­t.

On Tuesday, Lopez said the state’s “sudden closures (of businesses) are concerning” given the lack of communicat­ion between the state and county officials, arguing that local businesses “can’t just turn on a dime” and the state should be providing a “runway” before ordering shutdowns. He also called for the state to provide all orders and guidance in Spanish.

Stemler said she was “very concerned by the lack of strategic communicat­ion” from the state, and called for the county board to demand the state improve its communicat­ion efforts.

“Getting informatio­n in press conference­s and Twitter is not communicat­ion,” she said. “The public needs to understand the state’s strategy and how these closures impact the spread (of the disease).”

Stemler said many local businesses had already lost confidence in state leadership after having invested so much effort in re-opening only to be closed down again without adequate explanatio­n.

Meanwhile, county Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno noted the state had issued guidance on the closures, as well as how businesses

could continue with outdoor operations through the use of tents, canopies or other sun shelters provided only one side is closed to avoid creating another indoor situation.

Also Tuesday, Undersheri­ff John Mineau reported that 14 more County Jail inmates had tested positive for the coronaviru­s for a total of 88 inmate cases and Sheriff’s officials were working with the State Fire Marshal to allow continued use of part of the jail expansion area to house and test new inmates before they join the general population. Jimenez announced an agreement had been reached with the Central Coast Visiting Nurses Associatio­n to provide free pop-up testing sites in areas without access to testing starting at the Castrovill­e library on Wednesdays from 7-11 a.m. and Thursdays from 3-7 p.m. this week.

County health officials reported on Tuesday morning 2,835 total coronaviru­s cases, an increase of 45, out of 34,722 tests conducted, as well as 185 total hospitaliz­ations, an increase of seven, and 1,595 recoveries, an increase of 107. A total of 18 people have died with the coronaviru­s in the county.

 ?? BAY AREA NEWS GROUP FILE PHOTO ?? The state’s multi-agency COVID-19 enforcemen­t “strike teams” are in Monterey County helping enforce business compliance, including at restaurant­s, with state health order guidelines.
BAY AREA NEWS GROUP FILE PHOTO The state’s multi-agency COVID-19 enforcemen­t “strike teams” are in Monterey County helping enforce business compliance, including at restaurant­s, with state health order guidelines.

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