DENVER – The city and county of Denver said Tuesday afternoon it had issued five citations to businesses for violating the public health order that closed non-essential businesses and had issued 601 warnings to people who were not complying with the order to stay at home.
Between March 24 and March 30, the city contacted 3,052 people to explain to them why they must abide by the stay-at-home order. The city says those interactions are “meant to be an educational interaction.”
Out of those incidents, the city issued 601 warnings, which means a conversation was had with a person or business owner regarding the importance of abiding by the stay-at-home order and social distancing, the city said. Some warnings are written, and some are verbal, the city said.
And five citations were issued to Denver businesses over the time period, the city said, including one business that was cited twice.
According to the city, the following businesses were cited on the following days:
March 26: GameStop (757 E 20th Ave.)
March 28: Appliance Factory (1045 Zuni St.)
March 29: Car Wash USA Express (603 Santa Fe Dr.)
March 29: Appliance Factory (1045 Zuni St.)
March 30: Hobby Lobby (920 S. Monaco)
When the Appliance Factory at the same location was called by Denver7 on Tuesday, an employee said the store was still open, despite the city citing it twice in recent days.
The Hobby Lobby has since closed, but some other locations remained open as of Tuesday afternoon.
The GameStop has also closed since it was cited. A voicemail says store management says they “made this difficult decision in the best interest of customers and employees.”
The city said citations are written summonses that orders the recipient to appear in court. A judge will determine whether they should be fined, how much that fine might be, and could also order jail time for the recipient.
Denver said Tuesday it is likely to extend its stay-at-home order until April 30.
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