Albemarle safety ambassadors begin work this week
SUBMITTEDAn Albemarle County Ordinance makes masks mandatory in public, limits restaurants to 50% occupancy indoors and restricts certain public and private in-person gatherings to a maximum of 50 people until Sept. 29.
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Albemarle County’s COVID-19 safety ambassadors will start visiting local businesses this week to make sure they understand the county’s new regulations to help stem the virus’s spread.
The Board of Supervisors in July passed an ordinance that makes masks mandatory in public, limits restaurants to 50% occupancy indoors and restricts certain public and private in-person gatherings to a maximum of 50 people.
Ambassadors will be working with business managers on areas for improvement and do not have enforcement authority.
County Executive Jeff Richardson told the board at its meeting last week that the program is supposed to be proactive, education oriented and about positive engagement.
“We have devised materials that our ambassadors will take through the business community, to the various businesses in Albemarle County,” he said. “The focus will be talking with store owners, business owners, retail Management and doing walkthroughs and observations — they’re going to be our eyes and ears on the ground, looking at how things are going.”
According to a news release from the county, the ambassadors will be wearing blue polo shirts and white cloth face coverings with the county seal, and will carry a county-issued identification card, business card and an introduction letter from Richardson.
Ambassadors will use a mobile app developed by county staff to document interactions with local businesses. Richardson said the county will decide where to send the ambassadors based on complaints from the Thomas Jefferson Health District hotline and calls for service to the Albemarle County Police.
The ambassadors were hired through a $125,000 contract with RMC Events, and 19 ambassadors are being trained. These ambassadors will cover shifts throughout the week. The county currently intends to deploy six ambassadors per day, said Lance Stewart, the county’s director of facilities and environmental services, in an email.
Ambassadors will be paid $25.25 an hour and command/dispatchers will be paid $27.30, documents show.
An owner of a restaurant, winery, brewery or distillery that does not comply with the county’s indoor occupancy cap at 50% of the lowest occupancy load could be charged with a Class 3 misdemeanor, which could carry a $500 fine.
Those who do not comply with the mask mandate or those who attend or hold public and private in-person gatherings of more than 50 people could be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor, which could carry up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
The local regulations started Aug. 1 and currently run through Sept. 29.
Charlottesville, Albemarle County approve stricter virus regulations
The new regulations take effect at 12 a.m. Saturday for a 60-day period.
County delays vote on mask requirement, restaurant capacity limits till Aug. 5
The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors last week expressed interest in moving back to the state’s Phase Two reopening guidelines amid a worsening COVID-19 pandemic.
