Although the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department has been given the authority to ticket or arrest potential violators of the county’s latest health order to help slow the spread of coronavirus, Sheriff Chad Bianco said it was the last thing he wanted to do.

In the new public health order, Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the county’s public health officer, called for residents to stay home but, if they had an essential errand or appointment, to wear a face mask when going out. He also stated that residents shouldn’t have gatherings — of any number — outside of the people who lived in their home. Law enforcement agencies have the authority to enforce these orders, which run through April 30, “as they deem necessary,” according to county officials.