Sheriff Ingrid Braun announced today’s (Dec. 8, 2020) WEA without fanfare or comment.
Mono County Sheriff’s Office made the following announcement today regarding the state-wide Wireless Emergency Alert to county residents.
Today, Tuesday, December 8, 2020, at 12 pm, State Officials will send a Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) message to cell phones in areas included in the State Stay at Home Order. This message from the State is informational only. See State of California Press Release below:
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With COVID-19 spreading at a dangerous rate throughout the state, and multiple regions of the state now under a mandatory stay-at-home order, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services will issue region-wide emergency alerts at noon on Tuesday, asking residents to stay home except for essential activities.
State-wide Wireless Emergency Alert sent to selected counties to remind residents of Stay-At-Home Order and emergency developments in fight against COVID-19.
The alert comes as the most recent statistics on COVID-19, including data on intensive care unit (ICU) capacity shows that, two regions – San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, have dropped below 15% capacity triggering regional stay-at-home orders in those areas.>The following alert will be sent via text message through the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system to cell phone users across Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley:
“New public health stay at home order in your area. COVID-19 is spreading rapidly. Stay home except for essential activity. Wear a mask. Keep your distance. Visit covid19.ca.gov”
The geographically-targeted text messages will be sent to residents in the San Joaquin Valley Counties of: Calaveras, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Benito, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne.
Likewise, targeted text messages will also be sent in the following Southern California Counties: Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.
The Regional Stay-at-Home Order took effect in those two regions at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday and will remain in effect for at least three weeks. Regions will be eligible to exit from the order and return to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy on December 28 if ICU capacity projections for the following month are above or equal to 15%.
Read the full Regional Stay at Home Order and frequently asked questions.
Subsequent WEA messages could be sent to other regions of the state if they move into stay-at-home status.
This message is informational only, and individuals who receive wireless alerts should not contact law enforcement or call 9-1-1.
Under the terms of the State Department of Public Health order, when ICU capacity drops below 15% in a region, a list of sectors must close by 11:59 p.m. the next day including bars, breweries, distilleries, and wineries (except for production, manufacturing, and retail), hair salons and barbershops, and personal care services. In addition, a number of sectors in these regions, including restaurants, retail and shopping centers and hotels and lodging, will have additional modifications in addition to 100% masking and physical distancing.
Critical infrastructure, schools and non-urgent medical and dental care can remain open with appropriate infectious disease preventative measures.
Get more details on how to protect yourself from COVID-19: www.covid19.ca.gov
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Other sheriffs could learn from Sheriff Braun that impartial enforcement of the law and health order imperatives trumps political bias.