Health

Coronavirus updates: Bay Area county to start fining people for holding gatherings

August 7, 2020

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Updated

9:26 am PDT, Friday, August 7, 2020

With all social distancing and health protocols adhered to, Bernie Schwartz owner of California Luggage, has re opened like many other businesses in downtown Santa Rosa, as California implements Phase 3 its state-wide economy opening plan during the coronavirus pandemic in Santa Rosa, California on Friday June 12, 2020.

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With all social distancing and health protocols adhered to, Bernie Schwartz owner of California Luggage, has re opened like many other businesses in downtown Santa Rosa, as California implements Phase 3 its

… more

Photo: The Washington Post/The Washington Post Via Getty Im

Photo: The Washington Post/The Washington Post Via Getty Im

With all social distancing and health protocols adhered to, Bernie Schwartz owner of California Luggage, has re opened like many other businesses in downtown Santa Rosa, as California implements Phase 3 its state-wide economy opening plan during the coronavirus pandemic in Santa Rosa, California on Friday June 12, 2020.

less

… more

Photo: The Washington Post/The Washington Post Via Getty Im

LATEST Aug. 7, 9 a.m. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington is now projecting the death toll from COVID-19 in the United States could reach 300,000 by Dec. 1. The latest forecast, issued Thursday, estimates that between now and Dec. 1, 137,000 people will die in addition to the roughly 160,000 fatalities reported so far.

Aug. 7, 7:15 a.m. Following a spirited debate, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors unanimously authorized administrative enforcement of public health order violations on Thursday.

Effective immediately, under an “urgency ordinance,” county personnel may fine individuals and businesses for violations like holding a large gathering, not wearing a mask or not following physical distance guidelines in a business.

A non-commercial violation is subject to a civil penalty of $100. Commercial violations are subject to a $1,000 penalty for the first violation, $5,000 for the second violation and $10,000 for the third violation by the same responsible party.

In passing the urgency ordinance, Sonoma County joins neighboring Marin, Mendocino, Napa and Yolo counties.

Aug. 7, 7 a.m. Recent issues with the California Department of Public Health’s electronic reporting system have led San Francisco to temporarily suspend posting some COVID-19 data online, city officials said Thursday.

Counties across the state announced underreported COVID-19 case numbers early this week due to a glitch in the California Reportable Disease Information Exchange (CalREDIE) disease reporting system.

In response, CDPH has directed all laboratories to report positive COVID test results directly to county health departments until the issue is fixed.

Bay City News contributed to this story.