12/19/2023 0 Comments March 2020 lockdown californiaRidership on public transit dropped 61% from the month before, as some restaurants and cafes were forced to temporarily shutter, both as a precaution and because of fewer customers. Public activity has been on the decline these past few weeks in the Bay Area, with many office workers, in the tech industry and beyond, working from home. “In China, if the government says do it, you better do it, and you better do it right,” she said of the impending lockdown. “Here, we have so much freedom, and people do what they want,” said the cashier, who declined to give her name. Next door, at Cam Anh, half the buffet bins, usually brimming, had been grabbed up by customers as the restaurant prepared for the coming days. Produce bins have been picked over and emptied as the line at Yuen Hop Noodle Company, a market, snaked to the back of the store. Across the street at Target, meanwhile, security guard Luis Lugo said it was “busier than Christmas”.įoot traffic on the streets of the city’s Chinatown was slower than usual for midday lunchtime, but last-minute shoppers still crisscrossed the streets, bags in hand, many wearing masks.Ī mother walking grabbed her daughter’s hand, making sure to give passing strangers a wide berth. In an effort to control the size of the in-store crowd, security guards at Sprouts let in customers no more than 20 at a time. Lines at grocery stores stretched outside the door. On Monday afternoon in Oakland, as news of the order spread, many people headed out to stock up on last-minute supplies. An estimated 25,000 people were unsheltered in San Francisco and these five counties during the last homeless count. People who are homeless are exempt from the order, but are urged to find shelter. This is not about a criminal justice response to a public health issue.”Ī billboard in Oakland, California, advertises a local news station’s app that provides updates on the coronavirus. “This order, by law, is enforceable as a misdemeanor. “We’re looking for voluntary compliance,” he said. William Scott, the San Francisco police chief, explained that while the order was enforceable as a misdemeanor, his officers would be taking a “compassionate, commonsense approach” and looking at it more as an “education process”. The order requests that the sheriff and chief of police “ensure compliance with and enforce this order”. Those using any mode of travel are expected to practice social distancing. Airports, taxis and public transit will continue running, but only for essential travel. Under the order, essential travel is categorized as traveling for necessary supplies, accessing healthcare or going to provide aid to family or friends. Now all non-essential gatherings of any size are prohibited, as well as non-essential travel “on foot, bicycle, scooter, automobile or public transit”. Last week, the California governor, Gavin Newsom, recommended that all gatherings of 250 or more be postponed or rescheduled, and Santa Clara county and San Francisco promptly issued orders canceling or postponing all gatherings of 100 or more. “You will still be able to walk your dog or go on a hike alone or with someone you live with or even with another person as long as you keep six feet between you.” “With this order in place, you will still be able to get food, care for relatives, run necessary errands and conduct the essential parts of your life,” said Dr Grant Colfax, the director of the San Francisco department of public health. Residents can go to the grocery store, the laundromat, the doctor and to perform essential work, as well as to engage in outdoor exercise that complies with social distancing requirements. It’s to do everything in our respective capacities to prevent the spread of coronavirus so we can get past this very challenging time.” “The time now is not to panic,” Breed said in a news conference. But London Breed, the San Francisco mayor, made a point to emphasize that grocery stores, pharmacies, restaurants serving takeout, gas stations and other “essential businesses” would remain open, while municipal services such as garbage collection will continue. The order, which goes into effect at midnight Tuesday until 7 April, does not confine residents to their home unless they have permission to leave, as the lockdown orders in Italy and China do, but directs them to stay inside unless absolutely necessary.Īll businesses considered non-essential – such as bars and gyms – were ordered to close, and their workers to work from home. More than 6.7 million people live in San Francisco and the five counties issuing the order – Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda.
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