Dozens of businesses in Santa Clara Co. face steep fines on Black Friday

ByKris Reyes KGO logo
Saturday, November 28, 2020
Santa Clara Co. businesses face steep fines on Black Friday
Santa Clara County has lived up to its promise to strictly enforce COVID-19 public health guidelines.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- Santa Clara County has lived up to its promise to strictly enforce COVID-19 public health guidelines.

Dozens of violations were handed out just in the last two days.

RELATED: Santa Clara County reports highest COVID-19 daily case count since pandemic began

As of noon Friday, 76 violations were handed out with fines ranging from $250 to more than one thousand dollars.

Public health officials said they will not name the businesses that were fined.

Businesses will be able to appeal their fines or pay in 30 days.

Earlier this week, officials announced that they would not be giving warnings or grace periods to correct their violations, only fines on the spot.

RELATED: Black Friday: Santa Clara Co. retailers face steep fines, strict enforcement of COVID-19 rules

Public health officials have been patrolling the entire county since Thursday and will continue to check on busy shopping areas until Saturday.

There's been no word on whether health officers visited the busy Santana Row shopping area, but ABC7 News did find a huge crowd shopping and eating on Friday.

"I feel like they should be more strict about wearing masks, I could still see people a lot without a mask," said one shopper.

"Still being too close to everybody, I mean even if they're only letting a few people in, it's still cluttered," said Celina Sanchez, another shopper.

COVID-19 RISK CALCULATOR: The safest, most dangerous things to do this holiday season

One mother and son said they had a better experience. They felt safe and walked away with good deals.

"Everyone was in their own areas," said Christopher Gomez.

"They have plexiglass up, they had enough personnel in there that you aren't sitting and waiting for someone to help you," said Martiza Aguiniga.

Santa Clara County Public Health said many of the violators failed to submit and post a revised social distancing protocol.

If you have a question or comment about the coronavirus pandemic, submit yours via the form below or here.

Get the latest news, information and videos about the novel coronavirus pandemic here RELATED STORIES & VIDEOS: