Danville Cancels Planned Hartz Avenue Closure After Incident, Ongoing Health Concerns
Council to reexamine closures at Tuesday study session.
Following a weekend incident and continued concerns around violations of the county health order, the scheduled closure of Hartz Avenue for the weekend of October 23, 2020 has been cancelled for the segment between Diablo Road and Prospect Avenue. The issue of ongoing closures will be a topic of discussion at a Town Council study session next week.Â
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The decision to cancel the closure followed police reports of an altercation involving several people on the evening of October 17, 2020. Additionally, the Town has received reports of violations of the Contra Costa County Health Order, many having to do with large gatherings with no face coverings or social distancing.
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Based upon the number of new cases over the past 14 days, the Town of Danville’s COVID-19 new cases per 100k population is currently among the worst in Contra Costa County www.coronavirus.cchealth.org, prompting the Town to begin implementing stricter enforcement efforts.
“We need to see our numbers come down, so that we can continue to move forward with the process of reopening,” said Town Manager Joe Calabrigo. “with winter approaching, it is vitally important in that effort for all of our businesses and our community to work with us toward that goal.”
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Under the current health order, restaurants should adhere to the following guidelines:
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- Gatherings and parties that bring together people from multiple households are still prohibited. Restaurants should not be hosting events, live entertainment (inside or outside), parties, karaoke or dancing.
- Music volume should be adjusted so that workers can maintain distance from customers to hear orders.
- Restaurants may only offer sit-down meals. Guests must be seated, no high-tops or gathering in standing groups.
- Alcohol can only be sold in the same transaction as a meal – No standalone bar service.
- Businesses should not exceed occupancy (25% indoors, socially distanced in outdoor space)
- Guests should be asked to keep masks on when not at their table.
Members of the Danville Town Council will meet in study session at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 27, 2020 to discuss the future of the downtown street closure, as well as how to work safely with businesses as we enter the winter season.
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This is why we can’t have nice things.
Who knows if these accusations and events are even true?
Who better to decide if not someone calling himself “Mark McDanville?” #NoTrolls
Bunch of children masquerading as adults.
Safety? We can’t do that. It’s October! Let’s Beer Barrel Polka!
If only there were day care for the deniers.
Or an island we could ship them all to.
Karens and Kens
I’d like the Town of Danville to make public the restaurants which are ignoring the guidelines. Not only would this be a great deterrent but I would know where not to eat in the future.
Agree. I consider this vital information and part of our right to know as citizens.
Shouldn’t we have proof before we start the witch trials?
Mark, there were multiple reports of violations of social distancing. Social distancing is pretty hard to misdiagnose, especially multiple reports, don’t you think? Also, you can be sure that the Town of Danville doesn’t go looking for lawsuits to be filed against it, so the violation has to be clear and multiple violations means there were several warnings. Was that misreported also? Finally, police were called for altercations. What part of that do you find misleading? Were police not called and it was made up? Do you think people mistook partying (at social distancing) for altercations? it’s good to have a healthy attitude about what you read but in this case I think the facts couldn’t be any clearer. Otherwise you would have to argue that there wasn’t a fight, police weren’t called, and Danville just issues violations with no evidence and restaurants don’t appeal.
Two people get into an altercation and now we need to shut down town indefinitely? What evidence other than a standard police call?
Where is the evidence there were multiple violations?
One person complaining more than once qualifies as a report right, even if they are hysterical, irrational, or politically motivated?
Two separate GROUPS of people.
(Edit)Then just close permanently for safe measure?
(Edit)Nothing like a good weekend game of dodge the aqueous droplets!
How many new cases were reported per 100k?
Notice how they don’t mention that.
Sorry, people are going to get sick, then get better. That’s how it’s been going on for our entire life. I vote we live and be careful.
86.6 for Danville vs 4.5 or so for the county as a whole if I read the numbers correctly. A link to the numbers is provided in this article.
After a second look, that 86.6 rate is not a daily rate but a 14 day snapshot (per 100,000). The comparable County-wide snapshot would appear to be 76.6, which is not good but not as extreme as I indicated. The 4.5 (approx) County daily rate is calculated and quoted separately, so it can be a bit confusing.
Sorry! So many had to die! So many will be faced with Post Covid health results, most are not yet detected. Apart from the consequences of the disease, the consequences of the medications and therapies are yet to be met. Suggest you read up on Post Polio and Post TB traumas, sometimes 40 years later.
Blessings to all. Be safe. Be wise!
Hard to believe this country made it through World War II. We’re nothing but a pack of spoiled and squabbling children.
Sorry but over 400,000 didn’t make it through WW2, or about 9,100 deaths/month. Since mid-January to today ~223,000 people have died from Covid-19, or about 24,777 deaths/month. What is so difficult to accept about these figures? And what is so difficult to understand that masks help prevent the spread? Not to mention that the economy would be able to open up much sooner if people like you listened to the vast majority of scientists.
It’s actually about 300,000. While there have been 220,000 or so deaths officially attributed to COVID, not everyone who dies getstested and, in the months since COVID-19 started spreading, we’ve had about 300,000 more deaths than we’d typically have in those months. These excess deaths are the best estimate of the true number to have died from this disease.
So, following your lead in averaging them since mid-January, although the death count didn’t really start to mount until late March/early April, you get over 33,000 deaths per month, which is way above the US death toll in WW2, but quite a bit less than in many European and Asian nations.
I didn’t realize there were that many Republicans in Danville. Sad that so many think they can pick their facts and ignore reality.
Believe the reference was to the country’s communal effort to defeat fascism and end the war and not to its losses. At least thats how I took it. These days Americans can’t agree on very much.
I don’t know what everyone was, and is worrying about. Look who’s in charge! That orange faced moron who said it’s a hoax. He said it will magically disappear. It affects almost no one. Don’t you feel safer already? Go hug and kiss each other you fun loving Republican’s.
Looks political.
It doesn’t appear we’re able to do this social distancing thing. Maybe we need to build walls between Mask and No Mask areas and let people do what they want. They seem willing to risk illness for a drink or dinner out.
Don’t we always?
Feel sorry for the first responders that had to roll in there and help the sprayers.
Surprised people still stop for red lights most of the time.
Deaths?
Yeah. About a quarter, about one-fourth, 1/4 of a million, not counting yours. Where are you submitting your post from if you don’t mind my asking.
We were going to come down for dinner but we booked a cruise instead. We like to live on the edge.
On October 17th I was on Hartz Ave to eat dinner.
All the restaurants were full with no visible social distancing and live music at 3 or 4 with (unmasked musicians including singers), not socially distanced from each other or from people sitting at tables. People were sitting for hours unmasked at tables in large crowds. Looks like one very big party on Hartz Ave with the potential for being a super spreader of Covid.
I’m all for supporting local establishments, and have eaten out at least twice on Hartz in the evening, but this time I couldn’t find a restaurant to eat in which I felt safe about so I ended up going to the Livery where it’s less crowded. There needs to be stricter adherence to guidelines and The Town of Danville needs to be consistent in reinforcing these regulations if we want to keep people safe!
Thanks for the details Eve. I know I won’t be eating in that block again. It confirms what I think many of us were thinking. Agree there has to be stricter guidelines. What is strange is that the people complaining about guidelines are the loudest to complain about opening things up. Yet if everyone followed the guidelines we’d open up a lot sooner!
It will be interesting to see IF, and how, this will impact the reopening of schools, tentatively planned for Jan 2021. All people attending these events are exposed to this risk, resulting in the increasing case numbers. Subsequently, participants take this exposure back to their social bubbles at home, with extended family, friends and neighbors.
We had doubts the whole street closure idea would work but we know business owners are desperate to reopen and that people want to get out again. I think the only thing you can do is close down the entire effort if you’re not prepared to identify individual businesses who may be violating the terms of the agreement although it’s a shame all have to suffer because of a few. We wish it wasn’t this way but it is because as others have said there will always be those who don’t think the guidelines apply to them. Aside from the whole Separate Village idea where people are allowed to thrive or perish depending on their beliefs we don’t know how else you could approach the problem. For the record we’re staying home. We can always make a martini at home if we need to.
I’m staying home. When I go out I want to have a good time. Not deal with all this BS.