5 Bay Area Counties Will Enter Into ‘Shutdown 2.0’ on Sunday
By: Matt Charnock
Tags: San Francisco, Bay Area, Pandemic, Covid 19 Crisis

We knew this moment was approaching. We saw it coming (and even supported it) when San Francisco enacted its baseless Covid curfew last week. But that hunch became reality earlier this afternoon when SF Mayor London Breed announced San Francisco, as well four other Bay Area counties — Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, and Santa Clara (as well as the city of Berkeley)—will adopt the state’s mandated stay-at-home order ahead of schedule.

Starting Sunday at 10 p.m., those five Bay Area counties will enter into what’s basically “Shutdown 2.0” until January 4.

“Today is a really tough day,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said during an announcement Friday before ironing out the facts supporting the decision to establish the mandate early. “Our hospitalization rates are rising locally, especially in our ICU right now. And just as importantly, hospitalizations are rising everywhere, so if we run out of beds, there won’t be another county that can help us.”

“We know that San Francisco isn’t at that trigger point yet,” Breed continued. “But that doesn’t mean we should wait to act… If you’re not staying ahead of this virus, you’re falling behind very quickly. We know if we wait, we are just delaying the inevitable. If we [wait for] one or two weeks, it will just mean our numbers will be higher.”

So, what does this mean? This new edict, more or less, is an echo of spring’s historically constricting shelter-in-place order — though this one is a bit looser.

Outdoor activities, like exercising and individual social distant strolling, are permitted; retailers, grocery stores, bodegas, and similar businesses can still operate indoor activities under reduced capacities. But all gatherings of any sort are strictly forbidden, as is nonessential travel. (We’re assuming this means SFMTA will soon announce a pause on issuing parking tickets, much like the organization did during March’s SIP.)

Per the regional stay-at-home order’s text: “All gatherings with members of other households are prohibited” and “residents in affected regions must stay home or at their place of residence except as necessary to conduct activities associated with the operation, maintenance, or usage of critical infrastructure.”

It’s worth mentioning that this mandate doesn’t dictate against people leaving their residences for essential services, grocery shopping, and to partake in outdoor activities — so long as they do not engage in any interaction with “any number of persons from any other household.”

In a nutshell: This newfangled shutdown will help us ride out this last Covid-19 surge before widespread vaccinations hopefully begin, as noted by Breed and other public health officials noted in today’s press conference. A few weeks of isolation and strict social distancing will help keep our hospitals and health care centers from becoming overwhelmed — and save countless lives in the process.

Wear a mask; be kind to others. Practice proper social distancing. Deliverance from this hellacious global health crisis is right around the corner.

You can watch today’s full press conference on the order, here.