SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA – According to officials, firefighters within the Silicon Valley area are going to be tasked with helping enforce business-related mandates for the next few days with regard to a surge in COVID-19 cases in California.
Firefighters in Silicon Valley were sent out to enforce statewide business restrictions as the state faced a Thanksgiving shadowed by an out-of-control coronavirus surgehttps://t.co/O7UNADSazN
— KTLA (@KTLA) November 26, 2020
While typically firefighters gravitate more towards code enforcements pertaining to capacity measures for businesses, they’ll also be aiding general enforcement relating to mandates such as no indoor dining and the ilk.
Michael Balliet, director of Community and Business Engagement for the County of Santa Clara, stated that business owners have a “moral” obligation to comply with mandates – as well as a “legal” one:
“Businesses have a legal, ethical, and moral obligation to protect their employees and the public.”
Firefighters will be afforded the discretion to contact local enforcement officials when spotting violations, which will result in immediate fines ranging from $250 to thousands of dollars.
Balliet stated that with the pandemic levels rising within California, that the era of grace periods are over:
“We’re now at a point where it is vital that we ensure accountability at every level.”
Meanwhile in L.A. County, therein lies the possibility of stay-at-home orders making a return – albeit, not to the extent they were enforced back in March reportedly.
Dr. Christina Ghaly, health services director in Los Angeles County noted that 1 out of every 145 people within L.A. is potentially infectious to others – and discouraged Thanksgiving gatherings this year:
“You have a 15-person gathering at a dinner table, then 1 in 10 of those tables could have … a person that is unknowingly infecting others.”
On November 24th, the state of California collectively saw over 18,000 new cases of COVID-19, which creates concerns that with this uptick, the healthcare system within the state could eventually become overwhelmed.
Health officials from the state say that an estimated 12% of all positive cases of COVID could find themselves requiring hospital treatment at some point.
Following the November 24th spike in cases, the state of California enacted an evening curfew the forbids non-essential work and many forms of gatherings throughout most of the state.
Restaurants have also been barred from any form of indoor/in-person dining in L.A. County for a three-week period.
While these eateries can still provide delivery, takeout and curbside pick-up, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce said these restrictions will still affect roughly 700,000 restaurant employees:
“These measures will be devastating to families as well as businesses so close to the holidays, and without relief in sight.”
Seeing that indoor dining has been kiboshed for three-weeks, employees who function as servers have been left out to dry, proverbially.
Jaime Taylor, a server at Spago in West Hollywood, is among those concerned about how to earn a living in the meantime:
“I’m definitely scared…I’m by myself. I live alone. Spago was my main bread and butter. … It means a lot of uncertainty, a lot of questioning, trying to decide what you are going to spend your money on.”
The next few weeks are usually the most profitable of the year for restaurants. This year, that won’t be the case for those in LA County as they are forced to close for at least three weeks starting tonight. https://t.co/zAfmtwHEGR
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) November 26, 2020
Alexandra Kazarian is among the local attorneys who plan to fight the restrictions on businesses, remarking on plans to bring a legal battle against L.A. County and the Department of Public Health:
“We are here to take this fight the courts to tell judges: if you are going to enforce arbitrary rules, you need to enforce them to the government before you enforce them on people that are actually trying to comply.”
We at Law Enforcement Today recently reported on some of the restrictions ongoing in California related to the pandemic – and also some of the exemptions.
Turns out, those in the entertainment industry are exempt from from curfew within the state.
Here’s that previous report.
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SACRAMENTO, CA – The State of California has one of the strictest requirements when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor is requiring people to stay at home instead of enjoying their normal lives and routine…that is except for those in the entertainment industry, who are apparently above his mandates.
As millions of Californians endure another coronavirus stay-at-home order, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has reportedly decided to exempt the state’s signature industry from his lockdown mandate, allowing film and TV shoots to continue. https://t.co/HQhtq4wDIb
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) November 24, 2020
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom is requiring everyone in the state in the purple tier areas to stay at home between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. every day between now and Dec. 21.
Although there has been no scientific explanation as to how or why the virus is more dangerous after 10 p.m. and less so after 5 a.m., those requirements significantly hamper American’s daily lives in the state.
Now, Newsom has exempted anyone who works in any manner in the entertainment industry from complying with his guidelines. Not sure what makes them “essential workers,” but it is California.
Perhaps the reason behind the move is the amount of money the entertainment industry provides to the state of California. The industry employs thousands of people in various roles beyond actors and producers. They employ camera men and women, sound engineers, electricians, carpenters, truck drivers, makeup artists and caterers.
Someone please explain to me why a bunch of celebrities with single digit IQs were allowed to hold the AMAs in Los Angeles, but thousands of restaurants are forced to shutdown *outdoor* dining, leaving millions of Angelenos unemployed again. https://t.co/cw53aKsgFi
— Tiana Lowe (@TianaTheFirst) November 23, 2020
Not only does the entertainment industry employ tens of thousands of employees, they also help keep surrounding businesses afloat. Restaurants, hotels, and others that help keep the movie sets prepared and ready for shooting, also function when the entertainment industry is thriving.
When the first round of lockdowns started in California in March, the entertainment industry was not exempted. This caused movie and television productions to be delayed or stopped altogether during that time.
Not only were those who were directly employed by the entertainment industry suffering pay losses, so were the employees of businesses that support the industry. As a result, thousands of people were left without a source of income during the lockdown.
As restrictions around the state began to lift, entertainment production in some areas began to slowly pick up. Businesses would most assuredly be shut down again, as most movie production is done during the evening hours, until Newsom exempted the industry from the lockdown requirements.
Newsom’s latest restrictions come at a time when he is facing significant backlash over a recent dinner in a restaurant in which he is pictured not wearing a face mask. Not only was he not wearing any face covering, none of the others in the photo were wearing one and there does not appear to be any social distancing.
Thankfully the entertainment industry is considered essential and exempt from newsoms temp stay at home order. So as long as they keep producing I get to keep my job 🙏🏼
— Mama 🪴 (@xmxixnxa_) November 21, 2020
In that incident, Newsom was attending a birthday party for a friend that was held at an expensive restaurant in Napa Valley, French Laundry. Newsom claims that he did not know the event would have as many people in attendance, saying it was “larger than I anticipated.”
Newsom went on to apologize to those who called him out for violating the very strict rules that he himself imposed on the state.
He said:
“I made a bad mistake. Instead of sitting down I should have stood up and walked back and got into my car and drove to my house.”
He continued:
“Now on the minimize mixing, I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge something…And that is to very soberly acknowledge that a few weeks ago as I was asked to go to a friend’s 50th birthday…
“The spirit of what I am preaching all the time was contradicted and I’ve got to own that. And so I want to apologize to you because I need to preach and practice.”
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