Wednesday, July 8, 2020
County Reminds Multi-Household Gatherings are Illegal, Promises Action if Planned Weddings Proceed
Posted By Thadeus Greenson @ThadeusGreenson on Wed, Jul 8, 2020 at 5:27 PM
Humboldt County Health Officer Teresa Frankovich is reminding local residents — including those planning to host or attend weddings in the near future — that multi-household gatherings are not permitted under state or local health orders.
“We all understand the desire to celebrate occasions such as weddings with family and friends," Frankovich said in a press release. "However, just as high school seniors had to sacrifice traditional graduation ceremonies, these types of large gatherings simply cannot occur. We are in a pandemic and the potential for not only a large number of guests to become infected but for these individuals to then expose many more people in our community, is enormous. There is simply no way for Public Health to conduct timely contact investigations and limit disease spread when hundreds of people are exposed at one time.”
According to the press release, the Office of Emergency Services has received numerous contacts from guests invited to attend ceremonies in Petrolia and Ferndale over the next two weekends. County code enforcement officers have reached out to family members involved with both events to remind them "that these holding these gatherings is both illegal and dangerous," according to the release.
The release warns enforcement actions will be taken if the events proceed.
“I am hopeful that civic-minded residents of Humboldt will reconsider offering and attending such events until it is possible to hold them without violating the law and endangering the safety of the guests and the residents of Humboldt County,” Frankovich said in the release.
Read the full press release copied below:
“We all understand the desire to celebrate occasions such as weddings with family and friends," Frankovich said in a press release. "However, just as high school seniors had to sacrifice traditional graduation ceremonies, these types of large gatherings simply cannot occur. We are in a pandemic and the potential for not only a large number of guests to become infected but for these individuals to then expose many more people in our community, is enormous. There is simply no way for Public Health to conduct timely contact investigations and limit disease spread when hundreds of people are exposed at one time.”
According to the press release, the Office of Emergency Services has received numerous contacts from guests invited to attend ceremonies in Petrolia and Ferndale over the next two weekends. County code enforcement officers have reached out to family members involved with both events to remind them "that these holding these gatherings is both illegal and dangerous," according to the release.
The release warns enforcement actions will be taken if the events proceed.
“I am hopeful that civic-minded residents of Humboldt will reconsider offering and attending such events until it is possible to hold them without violating the law and endangering the safety of the guests and the residents of Humboldt County,” Frankovich said in the release.
Read the full press release copied below:
July 8, 2020 - Gatherings of Any Size Still Prohibited by the State
707-441-5000 ; covidinfo@co.humboldt.ca.us ; Monday-Friday 8am to 7pm Opens in new window
Since March 20 of this year, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and both State and Local Health Officer Orders, gatherings of individuals outside of the household unit have not been permitted. In spite of this, numerous individuals identifying themselves as invited wedding guests have contacted the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services to voice their concerns about two ceremonies in particular scheduled for the next two weekends, one in Petrolia and one in Ferndale.
These reports were received via the Joint Information Center’s Community Information Line, with additional reports made through the COVID Compliance Line. In response to both, and under the direction of the Emergency Operations Center, code enforcement officers reached out to family members to remind them that holding these gatherings is both illegal and dangerous.
As noted by Humboldt County Health Officer Dr. Teresa Frankovich, “We all understand the desire to celebrate occasions such as weddings with family and friends. However, just as high school seniors had to sacrifice traditional graduation ceremonies, these types of large gatherings simply cannot occur. We are in a pandemic and the potential for not only a large number of guests to become infected but for these individuals to then expose many more people in our community, is enormous. There is simply no way for Public Health to conduct timely contact investigations and limit disease spread when hundreds of people are exposed at one time.”
Law enforcement is aware and will be reaching out to the individuals involved, and enforcement action will be taken if these events proceed. Frankovich added, “I am hopeful that civic-minded residents of Humboldt will reconsider offering and attending such events until it is possible to hold them without violating the law and endangering the safety of the guests and the residents of Humboldt County.”
Humboldt County COVID-19 Data Dashboard: humboldtgov.org/dashboard,
Follow us on Facebook: @HumCoCOVID19,
Instagram: @HumCoCOVID19,
Twitter: @HumCoCOVID19, and
Humboldt Health Alert: humboldtgov.org/HumboldtHealthAlert
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About The Author
Thadeus Greenson
Bio:
Thadeus Greenson is the news editor of the North Coast Journal.
Thadeus Greenson is the news editor of the North Coast Journal.
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