San Francisco on Thursday ordered a mandatory travel quarantine, requiring people from outside the bay area to stay at home and away from others for up to 10 days.
The command applies to anyone “traveling, relocating or returning” from outside the Bay Area, including the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marine, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma. It will take effect on Friday at 12:01 a.m. and will remain in place until January 4.
“The virus is spread through human interaction and social gatherings, with no symptoms. The director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Dr. “We now need to take action to control the spread of the virus and save lives,” Grant Kolfex said in a statement. “One way to help manage the spread of COVID-19 is to isolate people who have traveled and interacted with others.”
People traveling to some serious jobs in San Francisco, including health care, have been exempted from the order. In addition to the quarantine requirement, any non-essential travel included in the 10-County Bay Area is also strongly condemned by the order.
People traveling in San Francisco must stay home and not interact with anyone outside their home, except in emergencies or health care situations. They will not be able to go to work, school or any other place.
The order comes after the intensive care capacity for the bay area fell below 15% and the entire region was forced under a state-of-the-art order. San Francisco reported an average of 280 coronavirus cases a day this week, including a record-high 33 335 cases on Wednesday.
About 150 people have been hospitalized in Civil-19 in the city, including 42 patients in intensive care – more than at any other time in the epidemic.
Santa Clara County issued a similar travel order three weeks ago, requiring anyone traveling in the county to travel more than 150 miles away. Other counties in California have recommended that people travel separately but not necessarily.
Covid-19 cases are on the rise in San Francisco and across the country. Hospitals in the Gulf region are on the verge of flooding, “said San Francisco Mayor London Breed in a statement. “Now is not the time to travel and the risk is to come in contact with other people or expose them. We need to do the right thing to protect ourselves, our neighbors and our loved ones and make sure we can celebrate together when this is over. “
For more information about ordering a trip to San Francisco, visit http://www.sfcdcp.org/travel.
Erin Olde is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: erinallday
