City of Cupertino, CA County of Santa Clara COVID-19 Videos, 13 Nov 2020

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From YouTube: County of Santa Clara Public Health: Enforcing the County Health Order - November 13, 2020

Description

We continue our focus on education, compliance, and enforcement. Enforcement Officer for the Business Compliance Unit, Melissa Gonzalez speaks about the County’s compliance and enforcement efforts and the education approach to protect our businesses and community members during this pandemic.

Recorded November 13, 2020.

The City of Cupertino would like to express its thanks to the County of Santa Clara for the use of their video materials during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information regarding the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak in Cupertino, please visit https://www.cupertino.org/coronavirus.

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For the latest information regarding the covid 19 pandemic in cupertino, please visit.

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Cupertino.Org coronavirus.

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Good morning welcome to facebook live. My name is corina herrera public information officer for the emergency operations center for santa clara county. We will be taking off our masks just during the segment so that you can understand us more clearly and asl can also understand us more clearly.

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Today we have melissa gonzalez from the business and compliance unit here in santa clara county, who will talk to us about compliance efforts and the educational approach to continue protecting our businesses and community community members during this pandemic.

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But before we go to our questions with melissa, I would like to emphasize that on monday of this week, dr sarah cody reported that the number of both positive cases and hospitalizations for cova 19 are increasing in an alarming rate. Here in santa clara county, there have been a lot of conversations and media focus on what will happen. If we go back to the red tier here at the emergency operations center, we are all working hard to have a plan in place.

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Discussions are ongoing as to what restrictions will look like if we are back in red.

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However, the more important issue is how to prevent from going backwards.

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We now how we now have flattened the curve as a community, so we know that we can do it and we've done it before and we need to continue doing so. That means wearing a face, mask maintaining social distancing of more than six feet and opting for outdoors because it is safer than indoors, and it also means ramping up our engagement, compliance and enforcement activities here in santa clara county compliance with the requirements of the health order limits the spread of covert 19.

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now to ask questions to our uh wonderful guest here today. Melissa. Welcome hello. Welcome, thank you for having me. Can you describe the compliant process? uh How do you receive complaints and what is the process for responding to a complaint? If you can take us through that journey?.

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Sure so we get complaints through our portal sec covetedconcerns.org.

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When we get those concerns, complaints from the public, we do triage them throughout several enforcement officers and they either can warrant a phone visit or a site visit depending on the risk, if it's willful violation, if it's repeat, violations from repeat offenders as well as if it's a minute health hazard and it's a super spreading event.

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So when we receive a complaint, we do do those site visits or phone calls, and then we will show up on site or have a phone call provide education first and then, if it has to lead to enforcement, we will then we will have to take those actions. So enforcements can be a warning, a notice of violation and possibly fines. The notice of violations can have a grace period or no grace period, depending on the risk.

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Thank you melissa, and can you tell us what a business can expect if a compliance officer visits their businesses.

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Sure so, as enforcement officers, we will always identify ourselves. We will have a county badge and also a county business card. We will also state the reason why we're there and the reason we're there is because we did receive a concern or complaint from the public. We will also observe if we are on site and we will see if there's anything that needs to be in compliance.

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We will help guide you and educate you in gaining compliance, and if we can get those violations corrected immediately or will or willfully, then we then we don't have to go down the enforcement route, but if it does get to that point, then we will have to issue a notice of violation or a warning.

C

Thank you, and can you tell us what the importance of a social distancing protocol is some people just see it as a piece of paper? Can you tell us what how important that is for our businesses.

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Yes, so the social distance protocol is definitely more than a piece of paper. It lets the community know that your responsibility and taking these things seriously, it's also a good, useful checklist tool for the businesses to make sure they're implementing all measures applicable and then, as well as letting the community know all the measures that you're taking to keep everyone safe, not just the public, but also your workers,.

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Thank you, um and also you know it will keep your business open. You know, because if our numbers are going high we will need to uh possibly close down. I mean we don't know right what the next steps are, but for now the social distance protocol will keep your business open, um and so how can the community help to ensure that businesses in our community comply.

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Sure so one thing we do ask for the community is so when you felt when you visit your your favorite restaurant or maybe your favorite establishment or business, we do ask that you look for that. Cove check mark prepared sign to make sure that the business has taken off all applicable measures as possible.

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Secondly, we do ask that the community wear their face coverings stay six feet apart from those that are not in their household and make sure you're following all rules and restrictions that the business does provide- and I just want to emphasize as well- is that if you do see a concern or anything that may draw your attention, that may be alarming. Please feel free to report those to sec concerns, dot, org.

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Thank you melissa, and can you tell us if there's anything else that restaurants or businesses need to know in order to help them comply with rules.

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Yes, definitely so there are a lot of good resources out there for our businesses. We do want to make sure that you are familiar with the restrictions with the mandatory directives and the health orders. If there's anything that you need more clarification or you have questions on, we do also have the business call center that is available for our businesses to call any of those questions to provide more clarification on those orders.

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We also have our business engagement team that is out there providing outreach education to those businesses to make sure that they're in compliance before we get there.

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Thank you. So, as you heard, our focus is to educate our community educate. Our businesses help them ensure that we're all following the protocols. However, there are compliance officers starting to visit businesses if they're not complying. Thank you melissa for that information. Anything else you would like to let our community know before closing up today's segment. Yes,.

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So one thing I do ask is that make sure you are following all the health orders out there and the restrictions we do find a lot of businesses do want to comply. Our main goal is compliance so feel free to reach out to all the resources and tools that are available to you out there and don't wait for us to show up to gain compliance.

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We want to make sure that you're in compliance, even when we get there and maintain ongoing compliance, and, secondly, we I do ask for the community help out there make sure you're following the current health orders wearing your face coverings, staying socially distanced and also following the business roles out there and making sure that if you do see anything feel free to visit our website sccovidconcerns.org and report. Those.

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Thank you, melissa and thank you for coming on our segment here today, as you heard uh continue to follow the social distancing protocols wearing your face, mask staying six feet away from any person that you do not live with.

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We need to tighten up because our numbers are going high and there is a possibility of going back to the next uh to the previous tier and even the one before that if we cannot get a hold of our numbers, um but most importantly, we want to prevent you know from losing any more lives in our in our community, and so we get to do what we can. I know that the holidays are coming up. We're planning things um you know. Maybe we thought we were going to be able to.

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You know open up a little bit, but you know be more flexible and we're not our numbers are going high, so we need to stay within our household celebrate from home this year. uh Maybe you know have something creative during uh in a social distance way. uh Virtually you know, start thinking and being creative so that you can stay home and celebrate with your loved ones. From afar, so that we can save lives and so continue to wear your face- mask stay six feet apart. If anybody happens to visit you take them outside, you know.

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Sit apart, bring your blankets out. We need to stay safe and know that if you have a business, make sure you're following all the protocols. Otherwise you will have somebody like melissa, visiting your business to ensure that that happens. Thank you all for tuning tuning in and remember. uh We will be here on wednesdays and fridays at 10 o'clock stay tuned.

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For the latest information regarding the covid 19 pandemic in cupertino, please visit.

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