SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — As the governor's new region-wide stay-at-home order goes into effect, not all counties in Southern California are planning to enforce it.
his latest directive, which shuts down most non-essential businesses, was triggered by the region's dwindling ICU capacity, which is now at only 10.9 percent as of Monday.
Under this latest stay-at-home order, San Diego County is now part of the larger Southern California region, including eleven other counties, some of which are blatantly defying this directive.
This order is in response to rising hospitalization rates and soaring COVID -19 numbers, expected to get even worse as we reach the two-week point after Thanksgiving.
"We are seeing overwhelming support for enforcement, but we are seeing a few exceptions," Governor Gavin Newsom said.
One of those most glaring exceptions is Riverside County's sheriff, who has made it clear that his leadership would not be enforcing the state's new stay-at-home order, which is now in effect.
"These closures and orders are flat-out ridiculous," said Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, adding this weekend that he planned to ignore the new directive from the state level.
"The Riverside County Sheriff Department will not be blackmailed, bullied or used as muscle against Riverside County residents in the enforcement of the governor's orders," he added.
You can watch Bianco's full message here:
Bianco is not alone. In neighboring San Bernardino County, the sheriff's office has also stated it will not use law enforcement patrols to enforce the governor's latest orders.
The Orange County sheriff tweeted out a declaration of defiance, saying in part that his deputies "will not be dispatched to, or respond to, calls for service to enforce compliance with face coverings, social gatherings, or stay-at-home orders only."
Newsom issued a warning for those non-complying counties, when it comes to allocating federal and state pandemic relief funds, specifically from the CARES Act.
"We are happy to re-direct those dollars to counties that feel differently, and that's exactly what we've done," said Newsom.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department has made it clear they are enforcing the order, assigning six deputies to team up with the county's "safe reopening compliance team." It is tasked with checking up on businesses that were issued cease and desist orders. It clarified that while voluntary compliance is the goal, "we enforce when necessary," according to department spokesman Ricardo Lopez.
San Diego County has set up a hotline for residents to report any businesses defying the public health order, and is currently receiving about 250 tips a day. For more information, just click here.