A five-day shutdown order in Fresno could soon be introduced in response to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency, according to a draft emergency proposal by Councilmember Luis Chavez, Nexstar first reported.
The order would require all retail businesses and offices throughout the city to be shut down and closed “without exception.”
The order requires the closure to continue for at least five consecutive days. Any businesses violating the order would be subject to fines up to $10,000.
The draft order is triggered upon intensive care unit bed capacity hitting zero within Fresno County medical facilities.
Unlike prior local orders, the shutdown order places big box stores on par with much smaller retailers – long a gripe among a bevy of business sectors during the initial March quarantine – requiring sales from Wal-Mart, Target, Costco and other similar national retailers to be conducted in pick- up only format.
The shutdown order would be extendable in five-day increments if ICU capacity within Fresno County – rather than the San Joaquin Valley region – remained at zero percent.
