Law enforcement in San Francisco over the weekend shut down a nightclub that had been operating illegally amid the coronavirus pandemic. A public health order issued on 16 March and expanded on 31 March closed bars, nightclubs and other venues in California to slow the spread of the virus. But a time-lapse video created by investigators showed more than 150 people entering and leaving the club on the weekend of 4 April, with none adhering to guidance on physical distancing. The video also showed 20 to 30 cars parked or departing from the building, according to the city attorney’s office. A witness told investigators that club-goers were especially raucous that weekend. “We are going to use every tool at our disposal, including these types of warrants, to protect public health during this pandemic. Cramming dozens of people into an illegal club during this outbreak is like dropping a lit match in the woods during fire season. Who knows how far the damage will spread? It’s the epitome of irresponsibility”, Dennis Herrera, the city attorney, said in a statement. Herrera on Friday obtained “a civil inspection and abatement” warrant, which allowed police to shut down the club and seize assets. It’s the first such warrant to be used to enforce San Francisco’s stay-at-home public health order. Among the items seized were DJ equipment, fog machines, gambling machines stocked with cash, pool tables, bins of liquor, cases of beer and bar furniture. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that in early February, Mariano Pena Lezama leased a pink warehouse in the city’s Bayview industrial district, saying he intended to use it for storage his janitorial company. But within days he turned it over to operators to use for an illicit venue. “There was a party every night,” Monte Travis, an attorney for the building’s landlords, told the Chronicle. The building’s landlords worked with law enforcement to close the club, according to the news outlet, telling investigators they were upset about being duped and concerned the building could be at risk of fire like the one killed 36 people who attended a concert in the Ghost Ship warehouse in 2016. Enforcement actions by the city attorney’s office, which handles civil matters, can lead to fines and citations. Separately, the district attorney can bring misdemeanor charges against those who willfully violate public health orders, said John Coté, the press secretary for the city attorney. “The operators of this illegal club senselessly put lives at risk in a time when our city is doing everything within our means to slow the spread of this pandemic and safeguard the health and wellbeing of the public,” said the city police chief, William Scott, whose officers executed the search warrant. “Let this case be a reminder that we will take action against those who knowingly violate the public health order and endanger the health and safety of our residents.” Those headed to nightclubs aren’t the only people who’ve been admonished for testing lockdown measures. A group of would-be holiday makers flying on a private jet from London to the Côte d’Azur in France were recently turned away by police upon landing.