Individuals who violate health orders, including refusing to wear a face covering in San Mateo County and commercial entities who allow these violations now risk incurring fines after the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors today adopted an urgency ordinance allowing the new penalties immediately.

The County of San Mateo continues to work to protect public health and safety in response to the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19.

Note: This is an archived version of an article that first appeared in 2016.

The County of San Mateo continues to work to protect public health and safety in response to the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19.

 This article was first published in July 2016. More than a century ago Rue Clifford rode a horse through the streets of South San Francisco to gather signatures to support building a library. Her work paid off: industrialist turned philanthropist Andrew Carnegie gave the young city $10,000 to build its first free public library on Grand Avenue.

The County of San Mateo has replaced a local call center number with a new service that will more than double the hours residents can get information about the coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) – 2-1-1.

Local emergencies announced to position resources for extended response