More time and additional restrictions needed to slow the spread and reduce future impact on local hospitals from COVID-19

Essential businesses expanded to include service providers that enable residential transactions (notaries, title companies, Realtors, etc.); funeral homes and cemeteries; moving companies, rental car companies and rideshare services that specifically enable essential activities

As of Tuesday, March 31, 2020, health officers in seven Bay Area jurisdictions, including Contra Costa County, are extending a previous stay-at-home order through May 3, 2020 in order to preserve critical hospital capacity across the region. 2020-0331-Health-Officer-Order-COVID19

The previous three-week order was set to expire on April 7. While the prior order has been effective in reducing the rate of transmission of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), it is not enough. There has been a significant increase in the number of positive cases, hospitalization and deaths from COVID-19, which is beginning to strain healthcare resources.

The health officers have determined that more and stricter social distancing is needed to slow the rate of spread, prevent deaths, and stop the health care system from becoming overwhelmed.

“Extending the stay-at-home order should reduce the number of sick patients seeking care at one time, giving us time to acquire more medical supplies for providers who will be providing care to people sick with COVID-19. The extension will allow doctors and nurses to better treat those who do get sick, and save countless lives,” said Dr. Chris Farnitano, health officer for Contra Costa County.

The new stay-at-home order will supersede the previous order and go into effect at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31. It is a complement to the indefinite statewide stay-at-home order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month.

Like the previous local order, the new order requires people to stay at home except for doing essential activities, such as grocery shopping, in six counties: Contra Costa, Alameda, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara, as well as the city of Berkeley. Non-essential businesses will remain closed.

The new order adds some clarifying language around essential business and activities, as well as some new directives, including:

• Use of playgrounds, dog parks, public picnic areas, and similar recreational areas is prohibited. These areas must be closed to public use.
• Use of shared public recreational facilities such as golf courses, tennis and basketball courts, pools, and rock walls is prohibited. These facilities must be closed for recreational use.
• Sports requiring people to share a ball or other equipment must be limited to people in the same household
• Requires essential businesses to develop a social distancing protocol before April 3
• Most construction—residential and commercial—is prohibited
• Funerals limited to no more than 10 people attending
• Essential businesses expanded to include service providers that enable residential transactions (notaries, title companies, Realtors, etc.); funeral homes and cemeteries; moving companies, rental car companies and rideshare services that specifically enable essential activities
• Essential businesses that continue to operate facilities must scale down operations to their essential component only
• Social distancing is the most powerful tool to slow the spread of COVID-19, a virus so new that it has no approved medicines or vaccines.

“What we need now, for the health of all our communities, is for people to stay home,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. “Even though it has been difficult, the Bay Area has really stepped up to the challenge so far, and we need to reaffirm our commitment. We need more time to flatten the curve, to prepare our hospitals for a surge, and to do everything we can to minimize the harm that the virus causes to our communities.”

For more information about COVID-19 activities in these areas, visit the Contra Costa, Alameda, Marin, Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo, or Berkeley COVID-19 websites.

What are the Major Changes this New Order (March 31, 2020) Makes to the County Health Officer’s Prior Shelter Order Issued on March 16?

The new Order extends the shelter in place requirements until 11:59 p.m. on May 3, 2020.

The new Order is also more restrictive in a number of ways. Major new restrictions include:

1. Social distancing requirements are mandatory. Unless strict compliance is explicitly waived, everyone must comply with the social distancing requirements at all times.
2. Before Friday, April 3, 2020, essential businesses that continue to operate facilities in the County must complete, post, and implement a social distancing protocol for each facility that remains open, using the template attached to the Order.
3. Essential businesses must maximize the number of employees who work from home, excepting only those employees who cannot perform their job duties from home.
4. Essential businesses that continue to operate facilities in the County must scale down operations to their essential component only.
5. Businesses that supply products needed for people to work from home are no longer essential businesses under the Order, and must cease operations (except minimum basic operations) at facilities in the County.
6. Use of playgrounds, dog parks, public picnic areas, and similar recreational areas is prohibited. These areas must be closed to public use.
7. Use of shared public recreational facilities such as golf courses, tennis and basketball courts, pools, and rock walls is prohibited. These facilities must be closed for recreational use.
8. Sports or activities that require use of shared equipment, like frisbees, basketballs, baseballs, and soccer balls, may only be engaged in by members of the same household.
9. Most construction—residential and commercial—is prohibited. Exceptions are made for healthcare facility construction directly related to the COVID-19 response; affordable housing; public works projects when designated as essential by the lead governmental agency; shelters and temporary housing; projects necessary to provide critical services to certain vulnerable individuals; construction necessary to secure an existing construction site; and limited essential residential or business repairs. The new Order also makes important clarifications. Major clarifications include:
10. Crowding at beaches, public parks, and open spaces has been a problem. The Health Officer, government, or entity that manages the space may adopt restrictions to reduce crowding and risk of COVID-19 transmission, including limiting number of entrants, restricting vehicular access, or complete closure.
11. Essential businesses must follow industry-specific guidance issued by the County Health Officer related to COVID-19.
12. Childcare facilities may only provide care to children or dependents of individuals working for essential businesses, providing essential governmental functions, or performing minimum basic operations for non-essential businesses.
13. Individuals may move residences only if it is not possible to wait until the Order expires, such as if a move is already planned or if it is necessary for safety or habitability.
14. Landscapers and similar service professionals may only provide services necessary to maintain the sanitation, habitability, or operation of residences or businesses, or for safety reasons. They may not provide services that are cosmetic or for general upkeep. For a complete list of significant changes, see the “Detailed Summary of Changes.” See page 3: 2020-0331-Summary-Superseding-Order-Changes

the attachments to this post:

2020-0331-Summary-Superseding-Order-Changes

2020-0331-Health-Officer-Order-COVID19

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