The Marin County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt an ordinance that allows county enforcement officers to cite individuals who are not complying with COVID-19 safety measurements.
Specifically, citations ranging from $25 to $500 can be given to individuals who are not wearing masks, according to Assistant County Counsel Renee Brewer.
The ordinance allows county personnel to enforce violations, and will be used as another tool to ensure compliance with public health orders, according to Brewer.
Some local residents spoke up against the ordinance, arguing that it will increase tensions between people of color in Marin County and law enforcement officers. A few locals questioned the power that such an ordinance will give police officers in Marin County.
According to county health officer Dr. Matthew Willis, Marin County is still on the state monitoring watchlist for COVID-19 cases, prohibiting any schools from offering in-person instruction until Marin County is off the watchlist for at least two weeks.
Willis assumes that every Marin County school will start out the 2020-2021 school year online if case numbers continue as they are now and Marin stays on the state watchlist.
According to Willis, as of 4 p.m. Monday, Marin county has 2,288 cases with a positive testing rate of 7 percent.
