Melendez Takes Aim at Mandated Curfew

Senator Melendez Responds to Gov. Newsom’s Month-Long Curfew

SACRAMENTO – State Senator Melissa Melendez, R- Lake Elsinore, wasted no time responding to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s month-long curfew requiring non-essential work and gatherings to stop between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. for purple tier counties in California.

The curfew starts  Saturday, Nov. 21, under a new limited curfew order issued on Thursday, Nov. 19, and runs until Dec. 21 unless modified. The curfew will affect 41 of the state’s 58 counties — and more than 94 percent of the state’s population. The curfew, which the state is calling a “limited Stay at Home Order,” stops short of a full lockdown.

The curfew is aimed at blunting the coronavirus. “The virus is spreading at a pace we haven’t seen since the start of this pandemic and the next several days and weeks will be critical to stop the surge. We are sounding the alarm,” said Gov. Newsom in a press release. “It is crucial that we act to decrease transmission and slow hospitalizations before the death count surges. We’ve done it before and we must do it again.”

Melendez is having none of it.

“The ‘Do as I say not as I do’ principle is on full display with this unscientific edict, “Melendez said in a statement. The governor has shown he’s capable, as a responsible adult, to make the decision for himself about whether it’s safe to attend a birthday party without masks and social distancing. Apparently this order doesn’t grant that same courtesy and responsibility to us common people. Doesn’t he know the same individuals with COVID who would be attending said gatherings after 10pm still may have had the virus before the curfew and traveling in public places presumably. This order doesn’t apply to the homeless either so he doesn’t seem to care about them. So what does this “limited stay at home order” actually solve? This is nothing more than a penalty box move for us common sense Californians who are calling him out for his posh, anti-health guidelines lifestyle.”

Melendez represents the 28th Senate District which is entirely encompassed in Riverside County and includes the cities of Blythe, Canyon Lake, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, Lake Elsinore, La Quinta, Murrieta, Temecula, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, and Wildomar.