Stanislaus leaders can fix a bad decision by enforcing coronavirus rules
Among the worst decisions of local leaders in the coronavirus crisis was announcing May 12 that no Stanislaus County resources would be used to enforce Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order.
Now that COVID-19 cases are spreading like wildfire, county supervisors must reverse that ill-advised directive and begin holding scofflaws accountable.
Supervisors no doubt were frustrated in May, complaining of conflicting and confusing direction from the governor’s office. Newsom’s order had closed most stores and other businesses, harming the economy, and local officials wanted to punch back.
Unfortunately, their May 12 directive sent a clear message that restaurants, shops and offices here were safe if they wanted to rebel and reopen. The county had their back. Authorities would look the other way.
Sheriff Jeff Dirkse and Modesto Police Chief Galen Carroll filmed a video saying they were all about educating wayward businesses, not handing out pandemic penalties. They repeated the message time and again, noting that Newsom himself had downplayed enforcement options in hopes that business people would just do the right thing.
Nine weeks later, the COVID landscape has significantly worsened. Stanislaus numbers keep shooting up, our hospitals are on the brink of being overwhelmed, and the school year will begin with students learning from home.
This tight spot we’re in is not a direct result of supervisors’ May 12 look-the-other-way directive. But it surely contributed.
When elected leaders speak, tweet or otherwise share thoughts, people listen. A leader’s influence can be powerful, for good and for bad.
Sending the wrong message
Telling the world that there would be no consequence here for ignoring orders from Sacramento sent the wrong message. This official act of defiance gave people one more reason not to wear a mask, or to keep six feet away, or to accept that COVID was real.
To her credit, Kristin Olsen — chairwoman of the Stanislaus Board of Supervisors — nearly two weeks ago publicly questioned whether the May 12 directive could be modified. Continuing to look the other way, she correctly observed, is not fair to businesses who have spent considerable effort and money complying with rules meant to slow the virus’ spread.
Most of us know of a business flouting the rules. The Modesto Bee receives numerous complaints every week of restaurants, bars and stores operating in defiance of the current reclosure order, and our employees have witnessed many flagrant violations first-hand. Packing in unmasked customers shoulder-to-shoulder is a common complaint, as is providing personal services and not requiring employees to wear face coverings. These can be COVID hotspots.
It should be noted that the supervisors’ May 12 directive contained an important exception for “mass gatherings.” That allowed the county to shut down a youth softball event at Modesto’s Rainbow Fields three weeks ago.
On Thursday, the county also ordered Paleteria la Michoacana in Modesto, where several employees tested positive for COVID, to clean up its act. And the state Alcohol and Beverage Control admonished three Modesto eateries during the July 4 weekend.
This can be fixed
When Olsen on July 7 said that violators should face some sort of consequence, County Counsel Tom Boze said his office would look into the particulars of reversing the May 12 directive and bring options to supervisors’ July 14 meeting. It’s not clear why that did not happen.
It needs to happen.
It may be too late for self-absorbed science deniers, who won’t be persuaded to think of others and wear a mask no matter what anyone says.
But course corrections are common and expected in a living and breathing government, especially when wrongs can be righted. This is one of those times.
Supervisors should proclaim that law and order is alive and well in Stanislaus County, where businesses are not just encouraged but required to do their part in keeping everyone as safe as possible.