Contra Costa County Supervisor Seek Consequences for Non-Compliance of COVID-19 Health Order

On Tuesday, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisor received an update on COVID-19 where Supervisor Karen Mitchoff advocated for health services to begin fining or shutting down businesses should they not comply with the county health order.

Supervisors directed Anna Roth, Health Services Director, to begin cracking down on non-compliant businesses who fail to check vaccination status or enforce masking under the current health order either via fine or shutting them down until they cooperate.

This comes after the county received 99 complaints for 80 businesses in November, but issued no fines.

Back in October, businesses such as In-N-Out, Lumpy’s Diners and other were fined.

Enforcement:

Roth said there has been no change in the county enforcement policy regarding the health order. The goal had always been to gain compliance without having to penalize business owners.

“In the month of November, we had 99 complaints were received relating to 80 different businesses. Of those, 13 of them are still in the enforcement process,” said Roth. “We have closed some of the cases, we are still working some of them… fines and penalties have always been viewed as a last resort but sometimes we do use them.”

Roth explained the health inspectors relied on providing information the first 6-weeks of this latest order, beginning in August, issuing a few warning and 3 businesses have been closed over the past 2-years.

• August: 23-30 – they logged 46 complaints
• Sept/Oct – received 164 complaints with 120 times sending out information, 9 notices of violation to 5 restaurants. In 1 case, temporary suspended permit of a restaurant which quickly came into compliance.
• November – received 99 complaints, education to 66 and still have 13 outstanding cases.

In a process change at the county level, complaints will now run through the Directors office

Supervisor Karen Mitchoff said she called this “progressive enforcement” with education and 4,000 restaurants in compliance with a few who have not complied, such as In-N-Out Burger.

“It seems to me that the time for education is over, the time for providing information is over, under the ordinance, the ordinance has progressed to the area where we need to be citing or issuing documents to shut them down,” stated Mitchoff. “The press is watching this very careful as is the public and I would like assurance that this week those types of actions will be taken. We have done the informing, we have done the educating, and its not fair to those businesses who are complying. Its not fair to the employees of those restaurants, patrons choose to go there, but employees work there.”

Supervisor John Gioia agreed with Mitchoff’s assessment.

“We hear from many businesses and restaurants who are complying who express there general support and taken extra effort. If they see those business establishments are not complying and not facing some type of consequence, they then raise the issue that I am working really hard to support this why aren’t those restaurants or facilities not facing consequences,” explained Gioia who noted early in the process the focus was on education to businesses. “People now know what the requirements are.”

Gioia posed the question that some businesses who are complying are now going to wonder why should they comply if others are not as there were no consequences.  He asked Roth to provide an overview of the process when contacting the business.

Roth said they receive a complaint or made aware of violation (somebody reporting). Inspectors then will call or attend the site depending on the complaint. They then will educate regarding the policy and provide strategies to comply. If they fail to comply or get another complaint or observe, then they will get a Notice of Violation—told to get into compliance, typically 2-days, or face further action. Then, inspectors will go out and observe. A fee/fine schedule then begins starting at $250 then doubles to $500 then $1,000 each time after. It could then move into suspension.

“We are bringing the administrative penalty part to my office,” said Roth which will help work in real time.

Mitchoff cut off Roth.

“I appreciate that but we are beyond that,” stated Mitchoff. There are businesses out there that you are aware of who have gone through all that administrative escalation. Are there 13-outliers out there who have gone through the fines, they have gone through the education they have not received that notice that its time to shut down. That is what I think this board needs to have assurance on.”

Roth said those 13-cases are still under investigation.

Mitchoff challenged Roth asking why they were not previously shutdown.

“This isn’t something that they need to continue to be investigated. To me, it’s a simple case of looking at Business X, received all the information, received all the fines, they should be at the point where your department staff can go out and issue that next level,” said Mitchoff.

Gioia ask the process timeline from notice the first time to working through the process.

Supervisor Diane Burgis explained the intention was not to shutdown business, but rather to try and normalize things so that people could still go out.

“To clarify, we are not going out just checking for masking or vaccines. We are also checking to make sure people wash their hands before they cook, or cooking food to right temperatures, refrigerating the right foods, no rodents are present or employees who have contagious diseases are not serving people,” explained Burigs. “So there is a vast number of things that we are doing that has been given to us as our responsibility. I want people to actually understand the large scope. The enforcement that is coming out are human beings with this responsibility to keep people safe.”

Burgis noted the grades on the restaurants highlight if it’s a safe place to attend.

“Its my understanding, but a significant number of the complaints are in communities that have low vaccination rates and higher spreads,” asked Burgis. “The thing that is really frustrating is some of these business owners didn’t enforce it because they couldn’t or because some challenges, they have been brought into this political effort to try and undermine things. Some of these small businesses are kind of stuck being raised up as the business that standing up against this, now they are in this awkward situation that if they turn, they are going to get the force of all the people who have been putting them up.”

Burgis acknowledged the challenges for small business challenges to enforce the county order and agreed enforcement needed to be done, but acknowledge employees and county staff will be confronted for trying to do the right thing.

Mitchoff replied, “we are beyond the dimensions. I am sorry there is a business out in East County who continues to defy this order. I am done with dimensions, they are defying an order and putting the public at risk.”

She continued stating much of this is was rhetoric as they all have received death threats.

“It’s rhetoric and its time to do something,” stated Mitchoff and requested a report of where the businesses were at within the timeline of compliance and what was being done noting the public was demanding it.

Roth stated she would bring back a report and the policy has not changed, but there was some miscommunication which she owned, but they did not abandon the policy.

Mitchoff cut off Rotha and challenged her stating her staff had abandoned the policy.

“Some of your staff has, let us be honest and I appreciate you protecting them as a manger should, but from my perspective getting a phone call late Friday afternoon with a response we have only been doing education there is no miscommunication, that means those who have been only doing education and fined have not been further cited,” said Mitchoff. “Enough with that, it is time to do something.”

“Message heard,” said Roth who will be following up on cases from November and into December.

Dr. Chris Farnitano said they do have over 4,000 restaurants who the majority are in compliance, but of the 80 complaints in November with the a majority resolved through education.

He explained that through this process, they were seeing more members of the community feeling comfortable eating out which was actually helping the business by dining indoors—this comes down to the policy on vaccinations and testing.

“I am hopeful most businesses will see this is actually good for them for their business to comply with the order which makes our community safe and customers want to patronize their business,” said Farnitano.

COVID Overview

According to Anna Roth, Health Services Director, she shared the county had 1,284 cases of COVID-19—at one point, they were at 9% positivity rate on Nov. 23 and are now at 2.8% and explained the average case rate per 100% is very different based on vaccination status. That rate is 14.6 per 100,000 for unvaccinated while its 4.7 per 100,000 per vaccinated. 27 people are hospitalized with COVID-19.

“Unfortunately, we are still seeing one COVID death per day on average with 31 deaths since Nov. 7 in our county,” said Roth.

Roth highlighted 75.6 of Contra Costa County residents are fully vaccinated.  The county had a goal to get to 1 million doses by July 4, they met the goal by Memorial Day and as of last Friday, they hit 2 million doses of vaccines given in the county.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment and I want to acknowledge all the staff, employees across the county as well as the partners across the county. This is a very big accomplishment,” said Roth.

For children 5-11, they now have 30.9% of those who are now vaccinated with events through December.

As of Tuesday, there is no Omicron variant within Contra Costa County explained Roth who said its in the Bay Area—Delta variant remains prominent variant.

Omicron variant

Dr. Sefanit Mekuria reported that last week, 5 Alameda County residents were infected with the Omicron variant which was linked to attending an out of state wedding on Nov. 27 in Wisconsin. All 12 had been vaccinated and received boosters with mildly symptomatic.  A San Francsico resident was positive after returning from South Africa.

“At this point, no active cases have been detected in Contra Costa County,” stated Mekuria with the Delta variant being the predominate strain within Contra Costa County.

She further highlighted that Contra Costa County has no plans to expand or change the health order due to the presence of the Omicron variant but are monitoring the variant.

Delta Landing

Dr. Roth said on Monday they celebrated the opening of the Delta Landing facility in Pittsburg noting 1/3 of unsheltered were in East County.  This was opened through Project Homekey and will open in the next several weeks.

A 172-unit interim housing site in Pittsburg will be among the first in California to open thanks to the state’s Homekey program to build and sustain housing for residents experiencing homelessness.

Delta Landing, recipient of a $21.5 million Homekey grant in 2020, will open later this month after extensive site renovation. In addition to new paint, roof, furnishings, laundry, and fire sprinkler system, clients can make use of a new wellness center for physical and behavioral health needs and co-located services to help them regain permanent housing.

The site at 2101 Loveridge Road was previously a motel, used since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic as a non-congregate emergency shelter for county residents with funding from the state’s Project Roomkey program.

More information on Delta Landing – click here

Burgis Says Leave Small Business Alone

She urged members of the community to come to the Board of Supervisors if they had a problem with staff in the field doing compliance checks and not to go into small business to harass them, or bully them to make a point.

“If you are going to do something, come to us because we are the ones enforcing it, leave the small businesses alone,” said Burigs.

Amending Health Order

According to Dr. Farnitano, he explained they have to meet 3 criteria:

1. Hospitalizations have been met for a while – less than 75 residents in hospital
2. Level of community transmission (low/moderate) – He says they are on the edge but need to be in moderate level for three weeks.
3. Total population of Contra Costa County at 80% above vaccination rate. Currently at 77%. Or 8-weeks since vaccines

By Dec. 29, Farnitano says they will meet 2 of 3 criteria but the transmission rate is still the problem. Still unsure if Omicron is more transmittal than Delta or effects in highly vaccinated population like the county–could see cases go up than down.