This afternoon, Santa Clara County, along with the rest of the Bay Area, announced that they will implement the State’s Regional Stay-at-Home Order on Sunday, Dec. 6, and not wait for the State to implement the order in a few weeks.
This just begins the State’s Stay-at-Home order on Sunday rather than in a few weeks as the State said yesterday. The order closes bars, wineries, personal care services, and hair salons and barbershops. Schools that are already open can stay open and critical infrastructure can also remain open. Retail capacity will be 20 percent and restaurants will be limited to delivery and takeout. Outdoor recreational facilities can operate outdoors only without any food, drink or alcohol sales. Cardrooms are also closed indoors and outdoors.
This is on top of all the other rules that Santa Clara County has been under in the Purple Tier, as well as the State’s 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. Santa Clara County also has a handful of stricter rules like a mandatory travel quarantine and a ban on contact sports.
In Santa Clara County, the restrictions will remain in place from Sunday, Dec. 6 at 10 p.m. until Monday, Jan. 4, 2021. However, when the State’s version of the Stay-at-Home triggers, that order is in effect for three weeks, so these restrictions may be in place beyond Jan. 4, 2021.
Health Officers for the Counties of Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, and San Francisco, as well as the City of Berkeley, acknowledged that Governor Gavin Newsom projected that the Bay Area region would be placed under a Stay-at-Home Order later this month based on projected ICU capacity. The Governor said he would enact this order when the Bay Area’s ICU capacity dipped below 15 percent, however, the Bay Area health officers will not wait, said Contra Costa County Health Officer Dr. Christopher Farnitano.
Rather than waiting until ICU bed availability reaches critical levels and delaying inevitable closures, the Bay Area health officers wanted to start early.
“We cannot wait until after we have driven off the cliff to pull the emergency brake,” said Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody. “We understand that the closures under the State order will have a profound impact on our local businesses. However, if we act quickly, we can both save lives and reduce the amount of time these restrictions have to stay in place, allowing businesses and activities to reopen sooner.”
Yesterday, Newsom announced that nonessential travel is now temporarily restricted Statewide.
The Bay Area health officers warned about traveling and ask those who travel or those who meet with someone who has been traveling to quarantine for 14 days. When it comes to the upcoming holidays, they said to not meet with anyone you don’t live with, even outdoors.
“Each of us can fight the spread,” said Dr. Lisa B. Hernandez, the City of Berkeley Health Officer. “Keep your family safe by avoiding even small gatherings outside of your household and not traveling. We don’t want holiday gatherings and travel to create a spike of cases on top of the surge we’re already seeing.”
The sector closures and restrictions on activity under the State’s Regional Stay Home Order are described on the State’s website.
Update: On Wednesday, Dec. 9, outdoor playgrounds were allowed to reopen.
