Danville Bowling Alley Flouts Mask Rules As Hospitalizations Soar

DANVILLE, CA — A Danville bowling alley is defying the county's mask mandate, which went into effect this week as COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths rise across the state and nation.

As of Tuesday all people in Contra Costa County, regardless of vaccination status, were ordered to wear masks in indoor public places as the highly transmissible delta variant surges — a phenomenon that officials including Gov. Gavin Newsom have called a "pandemic of the unvaccinated."

That same day, Danville Bowl announced it would not enforce the mandatory regulations as it believes "everyone has the right to freedom."

"The choice is up to YOU, as it always should have been," the business said on its Facebook page. "Not to mention if you're vaccinated you should have nothing to worry about anyways."

A fraction of recently reported COVID-19 cases in Contra Costa do, however, include people who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. An average of 61 in 100,000 unvaccinated Contra Costa residents tested positive over the past week as of July 30, the most recent day for which complete data is available. The same was true of 10 in 100,000 vaccinated residents.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study last week that found COVID-19 vaccines were effective in keeping people out of the hospital but that vaccinated and unvaccinated people with COVID-19 appear to carry a similar viral load.

Though eight in 10 eligible Contra Costa residents are at least partially vaccinated, the county has a high rate of COVID-19 transmission, according to the CDC.

The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients here climbed to 98 people Tuesday, up from eight people on July 3. COVID-19-related deaths in Contra Costa fell to a pandemic near low of four people in June but climbed to 14 in July.

Newsom said last week that the state was monitoring sobering hospitalization data that could put pressure on health systems across the Golden State should trends continue.

Contra Costa District Attorney's Office spokesperson Scott Alonso told Patch that it is aware of Danville Bowl's announcement and will look into the matter.

Alonso said he was not sure what would happen in Danville Bowl's case, but he noted that in July 2020, the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors passed an ordinance to allow for civil fines against businesses or people who don't follow local public health orders.

First time offenders will be fined $250. The second ticket will cost $500; the third ticket will cost $1,000, and repeat offenders can be fined $1,000 for every day a violation occurs.

"We're not trying intentionally to penalize businesses or individuals. We're trying to protect the public from an ongoing dangerous virus, and right now, there's real concern," he said. Alonso added that COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased more than 400 percent since July.

The Town of Danville continues to urge people to patronize local businesses that put safety at the forefront, and businesses should "follow CDC, State and County Health guidelines and health orders, and to act in the best interest of the health and safety of their customers and employees," spokesperson Nicola Shihab told Patch in an email.

Law enforcement is considered a last resort, and officers "will continue to stress education and voluntary compliance," the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office, which contracts with the town to provide policing services through the Danville Police Department, said in a statement. Businesses that are determined to be repeat offenders are referred to the district attorney.

"We continue to urge our community members to get vaccinated and trust that will be guided by common sense," Shihab said.

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