Anonymous
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Source: City of Santa Barbara
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Santa Barbara City Council voted to require the public and employees to wear masks or face coverings in certain businesses. Implementation will begin on May 1, 2020. The following is a list of businesses affected:
- Pharmacies and drug stores;
- Grocery stores, farm and produce stands, supermarkets, convenience stores, warehouse stores, food banks, certified farmers’ markets and other establishments engaged in the retail sale of canned food, dry goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, water, pet food and pet medication supply (but not grooming or training), fresh or frozen meats, fish, and poultry, or any other household consumer products (such as construction supplies, cleaning and personal care products);
- Organizations and businesses that provide food or other services to the public;
- Hardware and building supply stores, and nurseries;
- Laundromats, dry cleaners, and laundry service providers;
- Restaurants and retail food facilities that prepare and offer food to customers via pick up or drive-through;
- Taxis, ride sharing services, car rental companies, and other private transportation services. The Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District is encouraged to address driver and passenger safety through the use of face masks; and
- Hotels and motels, in publicly-accessible areas.
Businesses shall prohibit the entry of any person not wearing a face mask. A business may provide face masks to customers without charge or make them available for purchase. A business shall provide face masks without charge for the use of its workers.
Face masks may include cloth masks, scarves, bandanas or other face coverings over the mouth and nose of a person. The masks do not need to be N95 or surgical masks. Reusable face masks used by covered business workers must be washed and sanitized daily. For further details and to read the emergency order, click here.
Questions about how to comply with the order can be emailed to LandUse@SantaBarbaraCA.gov.
Not to sound snarky – but why was this not required back when stay-at-home was put in place? Seems a little too late as SB is now inundated with CV cases which has brought our hospital system to it knees and general economy to a standstill.
Seriously! What the heck? Now? Oh wow yea let’s DO IT NOW! Pathetic, the city the state POTUS everyone was TOO LATE to respond to the PANDEMIC!!! 4 months after the pandemic, “we have an idea, everyone should wear masks when they go into a store full of people” that’s a great idea why didn’t anyone think of that?
Can y’all tell how frustrated I am?
SBLOCAL – Most likely because pretty much all docs and scientist were saying (and most still do) that masks are not very effective and can in some cases increase risk of infection. From what I’ve seen out and about, they really just provide a false sense of security.
How is SB inundated with cases? About 75 of those tested came up negative. Of the ones positive most recovered or are recovering. When was our hospital brought to it’s knees? We have plenty of beds and never had a shortage.
The President knew about what was coming in November 2019, and ignored the warnings of the NSA.
Thanks roses you took the words out of my mouth. Our hospital was never on knees. I think they are requiring mask all of a sudden because we’re going to be reopening a lot of stores soon. Traffic is already increasing.
Indeed, everyone knew, including myself. I protected myself and my family, as everyone should have since we all knew this was coming. I certainly was not going to wait for “mother government” to send me a nice note to warn me. Most of my friends and family did the same.
Better late than never. It’ll be interesting to see how the anti-mask freedom crowd respects the law.
The city council doesn’t have the power to make law.
I’m hoping the stores enforce the mask requirement. Some already do, and they have plenty of customers. If you don’t have a mask/face covering they don’t let you in, but of course that requires employees to monitor the entries.
Kohn1–of course the council has the power to make law. That is definitional. Perhaps you don’t like the law but that is a different issue. We need to accept the social bargain and try and go along with the decisions of our elected representatives if we are going to live in a civilized community.
KOHN1 – Yes, yes it does. Read the actual emergency order, it cites in the first 3 recitals the Municipal Code Section and Resolution No. (the law) that allows the Council to make such an order.
Let’s all remember, the mask is not worn to protect the wearer. Unless it’s a perfectly fitting N95 or better it will not protect you. It is used to keep your germs close to your mouth and nose and out of the mucus membranes of those around you. Anyone can carry the virus and be pre-symptomatic or asymptomatic and easily infect someone who may then come down with very severe symptoms. Thankfully, due to near univeral social distancing and (more recently) widespread mask usage, SB’s new cases have slowed to a trickle.
Will the city even bother to enforce this? I suppose the misdemeanor will be in the form of a ticket, without any sort of booking. Can you imagine the excitement of the police, to be called to businesses to hand out tickets? What is the store employees supposed to do while they wait for police response, detain the person, possibly illegally? Let’s say a misdemeanor is issued. Our courts are basically shut down, probably only operating to process arraignments and kicking people loose with $0 bail. Cases are pilling up, waiting for courts to resume activity, and now they’ll have a pile of “failure to wear a mask” misdemeanors waiting for them when they open. A smart attorney would probably threaten to go to trial in order to waste court time and call the citing officers as witnesses. If the police fail to appear then the case would likely be dismissed. How many police really want to give out misdemeanors knowing that they may have to appear in court a few months from now. This whole thing seems unenforceable.
if you actually want to look into “what we knew” —https://int.nyt.com/data/documenthelper/6879-2020-covid-19-red-dawn-rising/66f590d5cd41e11bea0f/optimized/full.pdf
Relax, the manager would refuse the customer service without a mask. The police might be called if the maskless customer refused to leave.
Exactly, Trump was briefed about it repeatedly in November
Speaking of the City Council, whatever happened to our alleged “mayor?” She’s certainly keeping a low profile these days. Is she doing f*****g ANYTHING about any of this?
GENERALTREE: Certainly. So then why bother with the vote for proclamation and emergency order? Is this like when the City Council voted to prohibit nuclear weapons?
Thankfully they won’t, Coolio. And then thank them when you develop antibodies and your immune system is strengthened.
She’s not a medical doctor.
The tests are cheap, plentiful, and worthless…but the genomic database they’ll build on their citizens will be priceless.
A few years ago they tried to make minor in possession a misdemeanor. Once a couple of the kids in IV realized that meant they were entitled to a jury trial and plead not guilty it was quickly changed back to an infraction. I think you’re absolutely correct, anyone who pleads not guilty is going to see their “failure to wear a face covering” charges promptly dropped.
Yes, he did ! Completely ignored it.
It’s fine to ask this but, please, does anyone actually believe this will be enforced ? Our county got over a million dollars to support the no smoking ordinance. That was almost 3 years ago. You cannot go anywhere in this town or take a one mile walk around town without encountering folks smoking. No fines. No enforcement. Nothing. It’s ridiculous and just makes this council “a boy who cried wolf”. I’ll wear my mask
Don’t you know how the City really uses the funds? To shoo the homeless off of State St. Police give token tickets. The homeless often have 2 tickets. Other’s they target are street vendors. Do you really think the City would ticket tourists shopping downtown? Do you really think they would ticket bar hopping students at night?
Photo’s ops without masks…. Opening FoodBank sites… Follow the news crews and you will find her.
Answer is NO. They won’t enforce social distancing. I called the City Dispatch last weekend. It is way way way down on the totem pole.
Fear of what Soccer Fan? That you might contract the virus, develop anti-bodies, and then don’t have to worry about being scared and can live a normal life without local and state political dictums the rest of your life?
I’ve been informed that city councils can make ordinances which can be enforced in that city so I guess I was wrong.
Does this apply to parks? I went for a walk through Shorline Park on Tuesday. It was Packed with people NOT wearing masks or Social Distancing! Kids running around unattended,cars circling the parking lots like Indians on a wagon train,looking for a parking spot. Seems SantaBarbara is Lakadaisical when it comes to covid 19. So kiddys,When your in the ICU GASPING for air like a gold fish out of water, Thank your neighbors that don’t seem to have a clue,or just don’t care! Please People! Be Diligent,wash your hands,Wear Your Masks! Be safe.
“So then why bother with the vote for proclamation and emergency order?”
but we know why CSF 😉 it was purely to appease the many terrified people who call into city council with the thought ‘the best thing I can do for the country is to complain / inform on other people’
Great article and applause to all the people in our town, our Governor, our Police, Sheriff, Fire and Forestry Depts. Health, Civic, School, and the legion of Volunteers and their leaders. Everyone who has his or her ( masked ) head firmly in place. If we all follow the rules and use commonsense we will be proud of ourselves this time next year. A big Thank You to us all!
Yes. Absolutely, if people stop for a moment and read what is happening in New York- RIGHT NOW! Fear is a great incentive to keep your distance and wear your mask, for the sake of others and yourself.
I prefer to follow the data. Gov. Newsome keeps saying “we’ll let the data guide us” but refuses to acknowledge the very positive data currently available. I’ll follow the data vs. the reactionary “rules” put in place by people operating way outside their area of expertise (if they even have an area of expertise that isn’t politics).
I wonder if we’ll even be able to have enough food to eat, come this time next year. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-28/battered-u-s-restaurants-prep-for-pricier-beef-supply-squeeze