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Those inmates and youth will remain in county custody for the next 30 days. This period can be extended if needed.
This action builds on the state and local correctional and public safety leaders’ longstanding partnership, to protect public health and safety in the context of the COVID-19 crisis.
The emergency authority is granted to the governor under the Emergency Services Act and to the CDCR Secretary under Cal Penal Code section 2900(b).
“The state of California is responding in real-time and fighting hard to deploy every resource to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and we are working with our public health experts, corrections system and our local sheriff’s departments to ensure proper protocols and procedures are in place to effectively limit risks in correctional facilities,” said Gov. Newsom.
Additionally, the executive order directs the Board of Parole Hearings to develop a process to conduct all scheduled parole suitability hearings through videoconferencing starting no later than April 13, 2020, and for the next 60 days.
That process would facilitate remote participation of those typically in attendance, including staff, parole board members, victims, families and their representatives, inmates, attorneys and others.
The order was issued to protect the health, safety and welfare of state inmates, youth, and staff following the recent confirmed COVID-19 cases in four separate state prisons affecting five correctional officers and one inmate.
A copy of the Governor’s executive order is below.
3.24.20-EO-N-36-20-text by LakeCoNews on Scribd
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The Department of Public Services has been working closely with Lake County’s Public Health Officer, Gary Pace, MD, MPH, who last week issued a countywide shelter in place order to stop the potential spread of COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, Pace said no positive cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Lake County.
However, based on Pace’s Public Health Order C20-3 and Addendum C20-3, all county parks were closed on Tuesday to all uses except essential activities.
The following orders are emphasized:
– Any outdoor activity such as walking, hiking or running shall be in compliance with Social Distancing Requirements (i.e., maintain 6 feet from any individual not part of your specific household).
– Public events and gatherings and most outdoor events like disc golf, golf, skate park use, basketball, tennis, etc. are prohibited.
– Guided, sport, and/or recreational fishing are prohibited.
– All public boat ramps, docks and other waterway entryways are blocked.
– To prevent the spread of infection, all playground equipment is closed. The National Institutes of Health found COVID-19 is detectable “up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel.”
The county’s action followed similar measures taken by the cities of Clearlake and Lakeport to close all of their parks, as Lake County News has reported.
Lake PH Order Shelter in Place 03.23.2020 C20-3 (A2) 03.23.2020 by LakeCoNews on Scribd
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The new round of park closures are effective immediately, Flora said.
This is in addition to the closure of Redbud Park and Thompson Harbor which took place on Sunday.
The measures are being taken to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19.
On Tuesday morning, Lake County Public Health Officer Dr. Gary Pace said there are still no confirmed cases of the virus in Lake County.
Flora said all parts of City parks – including boat launch ramps, beaches, parking lots and any
recreation facilities, such as basketball and tennis courts and the skate park – are now closed to the public.
No person shall enter the parks during the closure or remain in the parks after having been notified of the closure and having been asked to leave by any peace officer or other person so designated by the city manager or chief of police, according to Flora’s order.
The order does not apply to peace officers, fire and rescue personnel or other governmental officials, or electrical, sewage or utility workers, or contractors thereof, acting within the scope of their official duties, Flora said.
“The time to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is now,” said Flora. “There are many people still not practicing proper social distancing and not heeding the Public Health officer’s orders. These additional closures are necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to keep our community safe.”
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Dr. Gary Pace’s shelter in place order went into effect early Thursday. On Sunday, he added additional restrictions that closed down local waterways and lodging facilities unless they are serving medical staff, COVID-19 emergency workers, construction workers of critical infrastructure and permanent residents who have resided on-site since prior to March 9.
On Monday, Pace released another addendum to the order, which can be seen below, to clarify the order language, in particular regarding boating.
Lakeport Police Chief Brad Rasmussen said he and the leaders of other local law enforcement agencies, including Sheriff Brian Martin and Clearlake Police Chief Andrew White, consulted with Pace on the creation of the health order and its enforceability.
Martin said he didn’t expect any more restrictions coming, as the lake and the area’s lodging facilities were the big concerns.
As of early Tuesday, no positive tests for COVID-19 have been confirmed in Lake County. Elsewhere across the country, however, the number of infections is climbing.
The tightening of local restrictions comes as US Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned that this week the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States is “going to get bad,” with the rate of infections predicted to rise exponentially because people are not following guidelines to stay at home or keep a safe distance from other people when they’re out.
Rasmussen said that the influx of people coming into Lake County from out of the area resulted in the tightening of local restrictions.
He said that on Sunday morning there were 60 cars parked at local motels, and people standing close together on the city’s docks while fishing, not following social distancing guidelines.
There are a lot of people coming from the Bay Area – where infection numbers are rising – into Lake County in order to stay at their second homes. “It’s a big concern right now,” Rasmussen said.
Martin echoed that concern, noting the potential for the illness to spread to Lake County from the Bay Area.
Rasmussen said he thinks the new orders issued over the weekend will help to control that activity. “The time to take restricting action is before anybody is sick,” he said, adding that if county officials wait until people start getting sick, it will be too late.
“It will overwhelm the capacity of our health care here in Lake County,” Rasmussen said.
While some outdoor activity is allowed, White said that in Clearlake they were seeing large groups of people at Redbud Park.
Based on Dr. Pace’s feedback, White said that activity was problematic and created public safety risk. That resulted in the city of Clearlake issuing an emergency directive on Sunday that closed the park, followed up by the Public Health officer’s updated order that included the closure of the lake and other county waterways.
Violating the local shelter in place order is a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine, jail time or both.
Martin, Rasmussen and White said all of their staff are focusing first on education, but they’re prepared to take enforcement action if necessary.
“We want to use citations as a last resort,” said Martin.
All of the agencies also are keenly aware of the impact on businesses due to having to close.
White said the Clearlake Police Department has issued one citation. They’re the only agency to do so thus far.
“Our primary focus has been on public messaging and education when violations are observed,” he said. “We have issued one administrative citation for $500 for an individual who was warned twice to follow the order but instead decided to loiter near the entrance to a local grocery store. We have received voluntary compliance in all other cases.”
The sheriff and the police chiefs said some nonessential businesses have remained open even after the order but deputies and officers have been getting compliance as they do more outreach not just to those operations but to the community at large.
In Lakeport on Monday evening, police contacted a large group of people who were fishing on public property, which isn’t allowed under the order, Rasmussen said.
“We’re going to have to ramp up the enforcement if people won’t listen. We really need people to understand that once it gets a foothold it can multiply very quickly,” Rasmussen said of the virus.
When people do go out for allowed activities such as visiting essential businesses, White reminded them that social distancing is important.
“All in all, most people are being cooperative and we want to focus on that,” said White. “Those who choose to actively defy the order or find loopholes are potentially endangering the welfare of the rest of our community. Good common sense can go a long way and allow the Health Department to focus on their response as opposed to continually patching loopholes. We are all in this together.”
Martin said he’s gotten some blowback due to the measures, but he believes he’s received more support from people in the community who are concerned about the virus’ spread.
“There’s a lot of people who understand this,” he said. “Nobody likes having their freedoms impinged on, me included.”
Officers and deputies are reporting to be holding up well, and are following protocols for protecting themselves and the community.
“We’ve made a lot of changes in how we’re operating in the interests of protecting all our staff,” said Rasmussen, explaining they have strict policies and directives not just in the police station but in the field in the interest of protecting staff and the public.
“We need to operate when we’re dealing with people as if we had it or as if the person we’re dealing with is sick, to protect us and them,” he said.
Rasmussen said the public should expect to see officers walking around with masks, gloves and goggles, as he did when he was out on duty.
Martin said his deputies have been given personal protective equipment such as gloves and goggles, which they will wear in situations where there is a significant risk of exposure.
He said there are lots of protective measures in place at the Lake County Jail, where visitations have been stopped and mostly felony cases – with exceptions for several serious misdemeanor charges – are being booked.
Martin said that, with word that a state prison inmate and three staffers in Los Angeles have tested positive for COVID-19, he expects to see a slow in the flow of inmates the state prison will take in.
Rasmussen said he appreciates the working relationship between local law enforcement, the Public Health Department and the two cities, and added that he, Martin and White are in constant communication about how to be united in the shelter in place order.
“We understand the serious impacts on these businesses and we’re trying to work this with all the compassion and empathy and professionalism that we can,” said Rasmussen.
The important thing now, said Rasmussen, is to work together and focus on keeping the virus out of Lake County.
Tomorrow, the community will need to help businesses get back on their feet. However, Rasmussen added, “We have to pick safety of the community first.”
Martin said there isn’t a single agency that is going to fix the problem of COVID-19, and that everyone needs to be part of the solution.
“It’s a society-wide effort,” he said.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
Lake PH Order Shelter in Place 03.23.2020 C20-3 (A2) 03.23.2020 by LakeCoNews on Scribd