- When a city like Denver or San Francisco issues a mandate telling people to stay inside, those rules come with some teeth.
- Denver's mandate, which will take effect Tuesday at 5 p.m. local time through at least April 10, carries possible fines of $999 per offense. Violators may even be charged with a criminal offense, the city says.
- Denver's mayor stressed at a news conference Monday that law enforcement officials will be educating people if they see them outside in apparent violation of the rules, rather than issuing fines.
- Denver isn't the only mandate with such punishments. Other cities, including San Francisco and New York, may fine or jail people, too, those cities say.
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Denver on Monday became one of the latest US cities to mandate that residents must stay inside, as the city fights a growing number of coronavirus cases.
Denver's decree, which officially begins Tuesday at 5 p.m. local time through at least April 10, also carries some teeth. While residents are allowed to leave to get groceries or medicine, to walk their dogs or go for a jog, if they are found outside doing something other than the approved list of errands, or if they are violating the 6-foot social distancing rule, they may be fined up to $999 per offense.
Denver may even charge someone with a criminal offense, according to the official decree. The city doesn't spell out under what circumstances it would take that route or what the potential penalty of that criminal offense would be.
Denver Michael Hancock stressed in a press conference on Monday that law enforcement's main goal is to educate people if they are found outside violating the rules, not to fine or charge them. He hopes most citizens will voluntarily comply.
Denver's shelter-in-place mandate isn't the only one that includes fines or potential jail time. San Francisco's citizens have been hunkering inside since March 17, not allowed to freely roam until at least April 7. The city has classified violations as a misdemeanor punishable by fines, imprisonment or both, it says.
On Sunday, the city of New York also told its residents that they were also not to go outside, and that mandate may also include fines or jail if law enforcement deems such tactics necessary.
A growing list of cities and counties are issuing their own shelter in place mandates, each with their own potential punishments for those who violate, as the cases across the US grow. The US as of Monday has reported 43,284 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 532 deaths.
- Now read:
- Denver's mayor orders residents to stay inside except for essential needs — and is even shutting down liquor stores and recreational marijuana shops
- Tech billionaire Michael Dell has a stern warning for spring breakers partying on the beach and flouting coronavirus guidelines
- Amazon's sellers are worried that its surprise 'essentials-only' stocking policy over the coronavirus could put them out of business
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