Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Face Masks Required in Fresno County, Supervisor Brandau Pushes Back
TLBBHMAP3-U010ALB5ANM-348f959abae2-512-300x300-1
By Jim Jakobs, Digital Producer
Published 5 years ago on
May 20, 2020

Share

Editor’s note: This story has been updated. Read the new story at this link.

Original story:  

Dr. Rais Vohra, interim Fresno County health officer, signed an order requiring face masks starting Friday.

“All residents shall use cloth masks or equivalent face covering while indoors at work, while visiting a business, or while coming into close contact with someone who is not a family member, in accordance with CDC guidelines to prevent (the) spread of respiratory droplets when physical distancing cannot be maintained,” states the order, which was amended Monday.

District 2 Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau says the order goes too far and he is vowing to fight it.

The Centers for Disease Control recommend cloth face coverings as an “additional, voluntary public health measure” to contain the spread of CVOID-19.

However, the city of Los Angeles, made cloth masks mandatory for anyone shopping or working in early April.

Fines and Jail Time?

The order encourages voluntary compliance but notes that violations are subject to “fine, imprisonments, or both.”

Vohra’s order comes the week following Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims’ announcement that her deputies would not enforce COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing orders.

“We do not stop the public to find out what they’re doing when they’re not sheltering in place. We don’t ask those questions, we don’t ask if they’re ‘essential,’ ” Mims told PowerTalk radio talk-show host Trevor Carey.

Vohra said the order is to help slow the spread of novel coronavirus. Specifically, situations where social distancing is not maintained due to social spacing or professional conditions.

Adults with respiratory illnesses, certain medical conditions, and children under 12 years old are excused from face coverings due to suffocation risk. The order says they should still comply with social distancing of at least 6 feet from others outside their households.

Through 3:45 p.m. Tuesday, Fresno County had 1,287 confirmed coronavirus cases, 160 hospitalizations and 17 deaths.

The county is seeking clearance from state officials to proceed with opening up the economy — including opening dine-in restaurants and all retail stores.

Fresno County Supervisor Pushes Back

Brandau responded to Vohra’s order in a Facebook video.

“The Board of Supervisors, in conversations, has made clear that we do not support that (mandatory face masks), and yet it’s in the order,” Brandau said.

Brandau said that board members are working behind the scenes to amend the order. It should be voluntary, not mandatory, he said.

He believes the order is unfair to small businesses: “If you put those restrictions upon them, some customers are simply going to order those products online.”

In addition, board chairman Buddy Mendes told ABC30’s Corin Hoggard that Vohra’s order would be amended to make the masks voluntary.

https://www.facebook.com/Steve4Fresno/videos/599560410915768/

 

[covid-19-tracker]

DON'T MISS

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

DON'T MISS

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

DON'T MISS

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

DON'T MISS

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

DON'T MISS

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

DON'T MISS

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

DON'T MISS

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

DON'T MISS

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

DON'T MISS

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

DON'T MISS

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

UP NEXT

What Will Happen to CNBC and MSNBC When They No Longer Have a Corporate Connection to NBC News?

UP NEXT

Major Storm Drops Record Rain, Downs Trees in Northern California After Devastation Further North

UP NEXT

Newsom Heads to Fresno, a County That Voted for Trump

UP NEXT

Conservative Professors and Students Are Beating CA Community Colleges in Court

UP NEXT

Thousands of University of California Workers Go on 2-Day Strike Over Wages, Staff Shortages

UP NEXT

Gavin Newsom Pledged to Release His Tax Returns Every Year. The Last One Was for 2020.

UP NEXT

California Governor Will Not Make Clemency Decision for Menendez Brothers Until New DA Reviews Case

UP NEXT

Fewer Kids Are Going to California Public Schools. Is There a Right Way to Close Campuses?

UP NEXT

California Voters Reject Measure That Would Have Raised Minimum Wage to Nation-High $18 Per Hour

UP NEXT

With Democracy Supposedly at Stake, California Voters Stayed Away in Droves

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

3 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

4 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

4 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

4 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

5 hours ago

Average Rate on a 30-Year Mortgage in the US Rises to Highest Level Since July

5 hours ago

Cutting in Line? American Airlines’ New Boarding Tech Might Stop You at Now Over 100 Airports

5 hours ago

MLB Will Test Robot Umpires at 13 Spring Training Ballparks Hosting 19 Teams

5 hours ago

Death Toll in Gaza From Israel-Hamas War Passes 44,000, Palestinian Officials Say

6 hours ago

Jussie Smollett’s Conviction in 2019 Attack on Himself Is Overturned

6 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

NEW YORK — Pam Bondi, the former Florida attorney general, was chosen Thursday by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. attorney general hours after...

2 hours ago

2 hours ago

What to Know About Pam Bondi, Trump’s New Pick for Attorney General

3 hours ago

North Korean Leader Says Past Diplomacy Only Confirmed US Hostility

3 hours ago

Democrats Strike Deal to Get More Biden Judges Confirmed Before Congress Adjourns

3 hours ago

Newsom Gaslights on Potential Gas Price Hikes in Fresno Visit

President Joe Biden with Mary Barra, the chief executive of General Motors, at the Detroit Auto Show, Sept. 14, 2022. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to erase the Biden administration’s tailpipe rules designed to get carmakers to produce electric vehicles, but most U.S. automakers want to keep them. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
4 hours ago

Automakers to Trump: Please Require Us to Sell Electric Vehicles

4 hours ago

President Biden Welcomes 2024 NBA Champion Boston Celtics to White House

4 hours ago

Ohtani Makes History With 3rd MVP, Judge Claims 2nd AL Honor

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at a campaign rally at First Horizon Coliseum, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Greensboro, NC. (AP/Alex Brandon)
5 hours ago

Trump Chooses Pam Bondi for Attorney General Pick After Gaetz Withdraws

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend