Tuesday, December 15, 2020
County Instates Mandatory Curfew Restrictions to Combat COVID-19
Pima County's voluntary curfew has now become mandatory.
The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to instate a mandatory 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew throughout the county in an attempt to combat Southern Arizona's rising number of coronavirus cases.
Supervisor Steve Christy and outgoing Supervisor Ally Miller, who attended her last board meeting today, voted against the proposal.
Penalties for a nonessential business found violating curfew range from having their business permit suspended or revoked.
The mandatory curfew will stay in place until coronavirus infection rates drop below 100 per 100,000 people, according to county officials.
The transmission rate in Pima County was 357 people per 100,000 people in the two-week period ending Nov. 29, but Pima County Health Department Director Dr. Theresa Cullen expects that number to be significantly higher for the period ending Dec. 13.
The mandatory curfew comes as in December alone, COVID-19 cases in the county have reached 13,589—2,554 more cases than reported in all of November. Last week saw 70 coronavirus deaths, according to a memorandum from County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry.
According to the memo, county personnel observed facilities for compliance to safety mitigations, including the previously voluntary curfew, on Dec. 11 and 12.
Of the nearly 400 locations observed, 15% were "seriously noncompliant," the memo says.
While businesses will now face losing their operating permits if they don't comply with the curfew, it "carries no penalty associated with the individual, as it would be difficult to enforce a curfew against individuals without the cooperation of law enforcement," Huckelberry writes in the memo.
Exceptions include:
The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to instate a mandatory 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew throughout the county in an attempt to combat Southern Arizona's rising number of coronavirus cases.
Supervisor Steve Christy and outgoing Supervisor Ally Miller, who attended her last board meeting today, voted against the proposal.
Penalties for a nonessential business found violating curfew range from having their business permit suspended or revoked.
The mandatory curfew will stay in place until coronavirus infection rates drop below 100 per 100,000 people, according to county officials.
The transmission rate in Pima County was 357 people per 100,000 people in the two-week period ending Nov. 29, but Pima County Health Department Director Dr. Theresa Cullen expects that number to be significantly higher for the period ending Dec. 13.
The mandatory curfew comes as in December alone, COVID-19 cases in the county have reached 13,589—2,554 more cases than reported in all of November. Last week saw 70 coronavirus deaths, according to a memorandum from County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry.
According to the memo, county personnel observed facilities for compliance to safety mitigations, including the previously voluntary curfew, on Dec. 11 and 12.
Of the nearly 400 locations observed, 15% were "seriously noncompliant," the memo says.
While businesses will now face losing their operating permits if they don't comply with the curfew, it "carries no penalty associated with the individual, as it would be difficult to enforce a curfew against individuals without the cooperation of law enforcement," Huckelberry writes in the memo.
Exceptions include:
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Emergency response personnel
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Traveling to and from work
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Attending religious services
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Caring for a family member
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Seeking medical care
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Fleeing dangerous circumstances
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Traveling to perform or receive essential functions
This article has been updated with contributions from Nicole Ludden.
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