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A letter sent to residents of an apartment building in Ventura County, California is going viral on social media. The letter, sent to residents on July 17 by an apartment manager appears to trample all over the constitutional rights of the residents.
Acting on an order from the Ventura health department, the complex manager informed residents that they will be locked in their apartments until the results of their forced Covid-19 tests come back. Test results could take a week or more.
The apartment manager’s gestapo-like tactics include security guards posted at all exits and entrances — presumably to prevent the residents from fleeing, unless they are essential workers.
All resident key cards were “deactivated” to further restrict the residents’ access to the outside.
The manager concludes the letter by reminding residents to keep their distance and wear a mask inside their apartments.
Imagine being forced to take an HIV test or a flu test and being locked in your apartment until the test results come back. Is that even legal?
Update: According to Citizens Journal, the 7-story apartment building was home to elderly residents and people with behavioral disorders.
Legal mediator Kevin Daly writes: “I find it scary that the city would quarantine people for three days based on the positive Covid19 test of 1-2 people which are very suspect based on the high number of false positives and other factors.”
He continued:
“I called Mayor Matt Lavere on the radio and he claimed to have no knowledge of what was transpiring at the apartment complex and claimed that it would be a county public health issue.I then called and left a message with the City of Ventura Fire Chief letting him know of potential for liability if residents were locked inside and a fire were to occur on the premises. Magically the quarantine was lifted that same day that I made the two phone calls.”
Update II:
It gets worse. In a comment left on Citizens Journal, resident Melodye Jarvis detailed her harrowing experience with false imprisonment:
“I live in this building and none of you are getting the full cause of the tenants anger. Thursday night about 9pm the building was locked down without notice. Tenants couldn’t go to the courtyard or get their cars into the parking lot, as I said no notice. The next morning people pounded on doors, shouted at us, ordered us around and herded us down the hall. Ater testing we were ordered back to our apartments and told the manager would get the results in 2 days after the weekend. Also we went from the one guard to keep unauthorized people out to 3 guards to keep us in. So it is not true that we could go out. People with dogs had no way to take them out A blind tenant had to have someone come and remove his service animal, leaving him totally unprotected. Many people complained to the Housing Authority and suddenly, the next day it was okay to go to the courtyard and if you checked out and in with the guards most could leave for short periods.”
