County takes unusual step to slow coronavirus spread
LOS ANGELES – Concerned about the rise of coronavirus cases, Riverside County has taken the unprecedented step of ordering all residents to cover their faces when leaving home, marking a dramatic escalation by county officials in their attempts to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Despite previous pleas from county officials for residents to socially distance, cover their faces and stay home, “more and more” residents were getting infected with the virus, and “not everyone’s getting the message,” Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the county’s public health officer, said Saturday in issuing the order.
“We change from saying that you should to saying that you must,” Kaiser said in a prepared statement published by the county. As of Saturday, Riverside County has reported 665 confirmed cases of the coronavirus infection, while 18 people have died from COVID-19, officials said.
Los Angeles and the Bay Area had previously urged residents to cover their mouths and noses, and San Diego County on Saturday ordered all essential workers to do the same, part of a broader effort among local governments and the state to flatten the curve of the pandemic before hospitals become overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients.
But Riverside County’s new mandate is far more strict, requiring anyone who leaves the house to cover up.
The order also bans all gatherings of people except for family members residing in the same home, according to the county’s news release.
The sharply worded news release said that police officers have the power to enforce the orders “as they deem necessary.”
“We have already lost two of our deputies to this virus. I am asking all of you to honor them by staying at home,” said Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.
Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Sunday also urged Americans to follow social-distancing guidelines and to wear face coverings in public to help slow the spread of the sometimes deadly virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week called on Americans to wear masks in crowded public places, but President Trump said Friday: “I don’t see it for myself.”
“The president is making a choice that is appropriate for him,” said the surgeon general on “Fox News Sunday.” Adams has released a video showing how to make a simple homemade face covering with fabric and rubber bands. Wearing a mask, he cautioned, is not a substitute for social distancing.
Adams also deflected questions about the need for a nationwide stay-athome order.
Trump has said he prefers to leave the decision to governors, nine of whom have not issued such a directive in their states.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectiousdisease specialist, said last week he did not understand why there was no nationwide stay-at-home order.
Adams said in the Fox interview that the federal government’s guidelines, which are voluntary, were “essentially” a national order.
“Over 90% of the country is staying home,” he said.
Adams said the coming week is going to be “the hardest and saddest of most Americans’ lives,” likening the projected toll of COVID-19 to “our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment.”