SANTA CRUZ COUNTY—The shelter-in-place order imposed on March 31 by Santa Cruz County Health Officer Gail Newel allows activities such as walking, hiking, bicycling and running. Anyone participating in those activities must comply with social distancing requirements, and large gatherings are prohibited.
Health officials say these measures, and similar ones across the U.S., are helping to slow the numbers of new COVID-19 cases.
But law enforcement officials are still finding large groups of people gathering in parks and on beaches, according to Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Ashley Keehn.
According to Keehn, the department has been getting as many as a dozen complaints of the unlawful gatherings.
“Today’s the date we’re saying, we’ve given enough warnings, and we’re starting to crack down,” she said.
And so the Sheriff’s Office will assign deputies to a Beaches and Parks Contact Team, which will contact the people who are forming groups or engaged in prohibited activities, who will be ordered to disperse or be subject to enforcement action.
Those who violate the order face up to $1,000 in fines and 90 days in jail.
The Sheriff’s Office also released a list of other steps the department has taken to adjust to the coronavirus restrictions, such as temporarily closing service centers and temporarily suspending jail visits.
To report any violations of the order call 454-7747.
