Coronavirus: DC Mayor Addresses Stay-At-Home Order Penalties

WASHINGTON, DC — District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said she doesn't expect Metropolitan Police Department officers to have to issue fines or make arrests for violations to the stay-at-home order she issued Monday to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.

People who violate the District's stay-at-home order may be guilty of a misdemeanor and, if convicted, may be fined up to $5,000, or imprisoned for up to 90 days, or both. The order takes effect midnight on Tuesday.

"We don't expect that we will have to issue any fines or jail penalties, because we expect the people of the District of Columbia to comply," Bowser said, during a Tuesday press briefing. "We do have penalties at our disposal, but I don't expect that we'll have to use them. That's certainly my hope."

According to Bowser, MPD officers will inform individuals they encounter to stay at home unless they are out for a legitimate reason, which the order defines as:

• obtaining medical care, food, and essential household goods
• performing an essential government function
• working at an essential job
• engaging in essential work travel
• exercising, according to guidelines.

Bowser added that MPD officers have been given a script that can be used on their loudspeakers to notify individuals about the order.

"They were just out at Lincoln Park this morning with that script," she said. "It is urging people and reminding them that they need to stay at home, but if they're going to be out, they need to be practicing social distancing."

After the briefing, Bowser posted a video of MPD officers reading the script on her official Twitter account:

Staying home saves lives. #StayHomeDChttps://t.co/MEWs6uxEBa pic.twitter.com/QS4YjLc1ma
— Mayor Muriel Bowser #StayHomeDC (@MayorBowser) March 31, 2020

Regarding her decision to issue the stay-at-home order, Bowser said the District's aim all along has been to conduct its response to the coronavirus in lock-step with neighboring jurisdictions.

"Each day, you've heard a consistent message from me and everyone in District government and that message is to stay home," she said. "Yesterday, our entire region took an additional step to reinforce this message. D.C., Maryland and Virginia all issued stay-home orders."

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On Tuesday, the District government is distributing a large supply of personal protective equipment to local healthcare providers, including hospitals, primary care providers, long-term care facilities, and home health aides, among others.

"More than 70 percent of our current stock will be delivered over today and tomorrow to those providers," said Jay Melder, assistant city administrator, at the press briefing.

The District government is purchasing the majority of the personal protective equipment through local sources. "We continue to seek assistance from the federal government, both FEMA and the Department of Health and Human Services, and their national strategic stockpile," Melder said.

Beginning Wednesday, the D.C. Health Department will release updated coronavirus information in the mornings. To date, D.C. Health has been releasing the information around 7 p.m. each evening.

According to Bowser, the new schedule will allow the District to provide a more comprehensive picture of the previous day's data. D.C. Health will also begin breaking down the data by age, gender and location.

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