Residents can be cited or even arrested if they don’t comply with Long Beach’s “Safer at Home” order starting this weekend in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, officials said.

Since the order went into effect on March 19 – closing beaches and non-essential businesses and requiring people to not gather outside unless from the same household – police officers have largely tried to educate the public about compliance.

But that could somewhat change.

“Starting this weekend, we are going to start enhancing our enforcement efforts,” Long Beach police Chief Robert Luna said during a telephone town hall meeting this week. “The officers are going to be given the discretion and go out to possibly cite residents who are not complying.”

The citation can result in a $1,000 fine and even jail time.

“It is a misdemeanor, and it can go on somebody’s record,” Luna said. “That is the last thing we want to do, but our neighbors are our priority.”

Violating the not-to-gather order triggers a state heath and safety code, which says it is a misdemeanor for failing to comply with a local health officer’s order.

“There are too many folks out there who are, quite frankly, being irresponsible and who are gathering in groups,” Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia said.

The city has two additional health orders, for which violators could face a misdemeanor:

•The Self-Isolation Order requires those experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 to isolate for at least seven days after symptoms appeared and to go 72 hours without a fever while not on medicine.

• The Self-Quarantine Order requires people who have been in close contact with someone believed to have COVID-19 to self-quarantine for 14 days.

Since the original March 19 Safer at Home order went into effect, only one citation has been issued in the city, Long Beach City Prosecutor Doug Haubert said on Friday. That was issued to a smoke shop owner on April 5 for having the business open, he said.

“I anticipate the overwhelming number of cases will result in compliance immediately after the police officer’s warning,” Haubert said. “On the few occasions the person refuses the warning, the officer could make a citation or make an arrest.”

Those violating an order likely won’t be in jail for long. Bail for all misdemeanors and low-level felonies was set at “zero dollars” this week by the California Judicial Council in an effort to thin out crowded jails.

This is not the first time a health order has been deployed.

“A person who violates a quarantine order, that’s a more serious case,” the city prosecutor said. “For example, that’s happened before with tuberculosis. We have had those cases in the past, where they’re ordered to stay at the hospital or at home. I have filed those cases, but it’s been years. …

“California is doing very well (during the current pandemic) and Long Beach is doing excellent at notifying the public about the orders and the need to comply with every part of the orders,” Haubert said. “I think that’s why California is winning against COVID-19.”

To keep updated on the city’s heath orders, which can be updated, go to longbeach.gov/covid19.