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Apr 07, 2020
In response to concerns of many local residents over the influx of out-of-state travelers into the Rehoboth Beach and other coastal resort communities, the Rehoboth Beach Police Department began an initiative on April 3rd, 2020 to closely monitor out-of-state travelers within city limits. The main goal of this on-going initiative is to take action to monitor, inform, and enforce the 14-day self-quarantine mandate imposed by the Governor’s State of Emergency to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. On the 3rd, Rehoboth Beach Police officers in patrol vehicles began following out-of-state motorists as they entered city limits. The officers followed the vehicles to determine if their destination was within city limits and if so the officers safely, following social distancing protocols, contacted the vehicle occupants to determine compliance with the 14-day self-quarantine mandate.
In addition to this initiative, Rehoboth Beach Police have continued to closely monitor the beach and Boardwalk enforcing Mayor Paul Kuhns’ closure of these areas to all activities to include exercising and dog walking. To ensure adherence to the closure, in addition to frequent patrols, Rehoboth Beach Police have installed electronic signboards at all entrances to the city, implemented the use of drones equipped with PA systems to play a programmed message, and utilize multiple surveillance cameras monitoring the area.
As a result of the hard work of the men and women of our agency, 102 individuals have been safely monitored since April 3rd. Of the 102, 59 were out-of-state motorists and 43 were individuals attempting to use the beach and/or Boardwalk. Of the 59 motorists, 37 had final destinations within Rehoboth Beach city limits and 37 were contacted. Eleven of the 37 motorists contacted were found to be in violation of the 14-day self-quarantine mandate.
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At this time, no arrests have been made. In the face of this pandemic, enforcement through arrest is not the desired remedy; however, as COVID-19 spreads, it will be necessary to combat blatant non-compliance, which will not be tolerated. As we have detailed, the Rehoboth Beach Police will continue to monitor visitors to our city and we will enforce compliance. Means have been established to track the contacts being made for future reference to further justify enforcement action. While we want to be fair and just, we equally remain dedicated to protecting our community.
Lastly, we appreciate the efforts of our dedicated employees and all those like them that risk their own safety and the safety of their loved ones to protect our community. We continue to express our gratitude to anyone doing their part to end this pandemic and our appreciation to our community for their understanding during this time of concern and change. We remain steadfast in knowing that this is only temporary.
