Santa Cruz Co Passes 2 New Initiatives to Limit COVID-19 Spread
SANTA CRUZ (CBS SF) -- With COVID-19 case rates increasing in Santa Cruz County, local leaders began implementing creative options to limit the spread of the virus this week.
After reporting over 800 news cases last week, county public health officer Dr. Gail Newel announced on Wednesday two new countywide initiatives: an urgency ordinance for health order violations and the Blue Check program.
The urgency ordinance, passed unanimously by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, allows law enforcement officers or designated staff to penalize health order violations through administrative citations instead of misdemeanors.
The citation will result in a $100 fine for the first violation, $200 for a second, and $500 for a third within a calendar year. Other counties in the area have passed similar ordinances in recent weeks.
"Currently, if we wanted to penalize someone who was not following local or state health orders, it would require law enforcement and it would require a misdemeanor, a criminal charge. This is unnecessary when what we are trying to emphasize is education and partnership and collaboration throughout our community and so we are excited about this new ordinance," Newel said.
Watsonville joined the county when its city manager issued an executive order Monday implementing its own infraction ordinance. Other cities in the county plan to follow suit soon, Newel said.
"This is a broadening enforcement so we can send other enforcement teams besides law enforcement to do education and fines if necessary ... and not criminal charges in most cases," Newel said.
Residents can call the county's public complaint hotline to report any violations or concerns at (831) 454-7747.
The Blue Check program is another initiative launched this week in collaboration with the county and the Economic Recovery Council.
Businesses can voluntarily choose to participate by providing proof of compliance with different health order protocols. In return, it will receive personalized signage from the county that indicates that the business is safe.
With the signs, "the public can then be signaled that this is a safer COVID-19 environment and that they should be encouraged to patronize that business or utilize that operation," Newel said.
County spokesman Jason Hoppin said the program is a mutually beneficial initiative that was driven by local businesses who were interested in finding ways to safely increase patronage while promoting health order protocols supported by the county.
As of Tuesday afternoon, five businesses had signed up, but Hoppin believes that number is much higher now.
Businesses who are interested in applying must prove that they have protocols in place to limit the number of people inside, follow physical distancing guidelines, sanitize and disinfect shared appliances and provide hand-washing stations, among other qualifications.
Interested businesses can sign up at sccvitality.org.
Santa Cruz County currently has 825 new cases from the last two weeks and two new COVID-19 deaths from Tuesday, according to Newel.
However, Newel said while the county's growth curve of cases looks like it is flattening out, it is difficult to be certain because of statewide problems with the electronic lab reporting that has provided false data over the last week.
"My rough estimate is that we could have as many as 100, possibly more, unreported cases from the last seven to 10 days," Newel said. "We are not as impacted as the state because we are relying on systems mostly that don't utilize electronic lab reporting."
To continue to slow the spread of the virus, Newel said it is essential for the county to come up with different methods to educate the public and limit the spread besides the passing of health orders.
"I don't want to say that there is no place for orders because we believe in the orders that are in place currently. What I am saying is I don't see additional orders or closures as being helpful at this point," Newel said.
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