by Dr. Eowyn
Residents of San Francisco Bay Area counties are ordered to “shelter in place” for some three weeks in an extraordinary attempt to slow the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.
To date, the Bay Area has 273 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 4 deaths.
Nick Garber reports for Patch that beginning at 12:01 a.m. tomorrow (Tuesday, March 17) and lasting for three weeks until at least April 7, residents of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties in the S.F. Bay Area are ordered to “shelter in place”.
The “shelter in place” order is likely the strictest measure taken anywhere in the U.S. against COVID-19:
- Residents are asked to stay home except for essential activities like seeking health care, shopping for food or other supplies.
- Outdoor activities like jogging and walking are allowed, but residents have to maintain a social distance of six feet, officials said.
- Businesses may remain open if they fall under a list of “essential businesses”— otherwise, they are asked to “cease all activities beyond minimum basic operations.” Many businesses would be shuttered, only allowing grocery stores, police and fire departments, pharmacies and some other businesses to stay open, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in an announcement.
- Public transit will remain open, officials said.
- Homeless people are not subject to the order but the state is encouraging them to seek shelter.
My question:
How will they enforce this order? With martial law?
Another local news report says The “shelter in place” will be enforced by local police. But police departments are already over-stressed and under-staffed, so how will they have the manpower to enforce this mass quarantine?
~Eowyn