Santa Clara County health officials are upping the enforcement of public health orders this weekend, hoping to prevent new coronavirus infections as Black Friday shoppers flock to stores.
County officials say up until now, they’ve been trying to use an education-first approach to enforce the health orders by giving businesses that violate the rules time to fix the problem and avoid fines.
Michael Balliet, Santa Clara County Director of Community and Business Engagement, told KCBS Radio the county is suspending that grace period, meaning the fines will stick.
"We’re doing that in the hope that businesses will really be on point ensuring compliance in their facility," Balliet said.
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Individual fines range from $250 up to $1,000.
According to San Jose Spotlight, county officials had issued $600,000 in fines to businesses as of earlier this month.
He said the county has received concerning reports of retail stores operating well above their capacity limit, something he’s hoping businesses will work to prevent during this busy shopping weekend.
"They have a legal obligation and an ethical obligation to protect their workers and the public and we expect that they do so," he added.
The county will be sending out more enforcement personnel.
The announcement comes as the state battles its largest surge of new infections and hospitalizations since the pandemic began. Santa Clara County, like many in the Bay Area, is in the most restrictive purple tier.
That means residents are also under a limited curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.