Kings County lifts its shelter-in-place order, will follow state mandate, supervisor says
The Kings County Board of Supervisors lifted the county’s shelter-in-place order during the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday, according to Supervisor Richard Valle.
In a Facebook video posted Tuesday, Valle said the removal of the county order does not do away with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide order.
“We have a long way to go. We need to remain vigilant and work together,” he said. “My colleagues and I today see a way out.”
Valle said there was confusion among residents over who was responsible for the shelter-in-place order from March 31. Removing the order was a way to clarify that the county will align with the state order.
“The intent is to get that out of the way so we can focus on the governor’s shelter-in-place directive,” Valle said.
The supervisor said he was not aware of any residents being fined or arrested for breaking the shelter-in-place order during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Kings County health officials have reported 58 positive cases of the virus and one death.
During a daily news conference Monday, Newsom suggested that social distancing rules could be loosened within “weeks” rather than months, if statewide hospitalization rates stabilize and if Californians adhere to physical distancing requirements.
“The only thing that can stop that is more images like we saw over the weekend,” he said, referring to photographs that showed crowded beaches in Southern California.
The Sacramento Bee contributed to this report.
