San Francisco Bay Area Ratchets Up COVID-19 Stay-Home Orders

The new orders, with press releases, summaries and FAQs, are available online at each of the jurisdiction websites; Pillsbury has provided links to these materials at the end of this client alert. They begin life broadly aligned with one another; we presume they will remain aligned, but there are some differences (San Francisco involves its public health officer in construction exemption decisions, and San Mateo restricts use of recreational areas to near the resident’s home). Citizens and businesses should check the applicable website of their geographical location for guidance and for updates.

The new orders acknowledge that while the original stay-home orders have been effective in slowing the rate of COVID-19 disease, there has been a “significant escalation in the number of positive cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.” Confirmed cases increased eightfold between March 15 and March 29.

The new orders become effective at midnight tonight, March 31, and continue until midnight on May 3 (almost a month later than the original orders). Each new order incorporates the state and any applicable local declaration of emergency, and explains that the statewide March 19 stay-home order of Governor Gavin Newsom is “complementary to” the local orders, which adopt “more stringent restrictions.”

The new or expanded restrictions include the following:

• Playgrounds, recreational areas and shared public recreational facilities are now generally closed, though beaches and other public lands may be accessible if social distancing protocols are observed.
• Recreational activities anywhere that involve common touching of sports equipment (like a ball) are prohibited except among members of the same household.
• Funeral attendance is limited to ten persons.
• Businesses that supply material useful for those working from home are no longer considered essential. Presumably, those materials must now be sourced from outside the Bay Area and delivered here. It is still permissible for individuals to leave their residences for the purpose of obtaining materials needed to work from home.
• Childcare facilities are now permitted only for those who are performing essential activities and businesses.
• Landscaping is now permitted only for sanitation and safety, and not for upkeep.
• All essential businesses must scale down to the essential in-person needs. They must adopt, before Friday, April 3, a protocol in the form of Appendix A with a checklist of distancing and sanitation safeguards.
• Retailers who supply a large stock of essential goods may keep open to stock and supply non-essential items.

Construction is perhaps the sector most affected by the orders. The only allowed construction includes:

• Repair or maintenance of facilities for safety and liability purposes.
• Healthcare facilities, but only to the extent “directly related to COVID-19 response.”
• Affordable-housing facilities or facilities with at least 10 percent affordable-housing content.
• Public works, but only if designated as essential by the lead agency.
• Shelters for those experiencing homelessness, but not hotels being used for the same purpose.
• Work necessary to bring construction sites to a safe and secure condition.

Expanded exceptions have been created for those facilitating residential real estate transactions, including notaries, title companies and real estate agents, and movers. Rental car agencies and rideshare providers are exempt for usage relating to essential activity.

Most remarkable in the order are provisions relating to travel. Travel is permitted only to perform essential activities or access essential businesses, to care for dependents, to avoid homelessness or domestic abuse, to accommodate parental custody arrangements, to arrange for after-death services, and to comply with law enforcement—and for those with COVID-19 to avoid exposures to others. Residents are instructed to move residences only if it is not possible to wait; this restriction could include an already planned move or moves needed for safety or habitability purposes. Those who move into or out of the Bay Area are strongly urged to self-quarantine for 14 days per CDC guidelines. The legal basis for the travel restrictions will be explored as implementation, monitoring and enforcement unfold.

The orders now make reference to civil sanctions as well as criminal penalties for violation.

For more information, please reach out to your regular Pillsbury contact or the authors of this client alert.

Alameda County – 2020.03.31 – Continue Shelter in Place Order

Alameda County – 2020.03.31 – Summary of New Shelter in Place Order

Alameda County – Frequently Asked Questions

City of Berkeley – 2020.03.31 - Continue Shelter in Place Order

City of Berkeley – Frequently Asked Questions

Contra Costa County - 2020.03.31 - Continue Shelter in Place Order

Contra Costa County - 2020.03.31 - Executive Summary of New Shelter in Place Order

Contra Costa County – Frequently Asked Questions

Marin County – 2020.03.31 – All Parks, Campgrounds and Open Spaces to Further Close Motorized Access

Marin County – 2020.03.31 – Continue to Shelter in Place Order

Marin County – Frequently Asked Questions

San Francisco – Frequently Asked Questions

San Francisco – 2020.03.31 – Continue to Shelter in Place Order

San Mateo – Frequently Asked Questions

San Mateo – 2020.03.31 – Continue to Shelter in Place Order

Santa Clara County –  2020.03.31 – Continue Shelter in Place Order

Santa Clara County –  2020.03.31 – Executive Summary of New Shelter in Place Order

Santa Clara County –  Frequently Asked Questions

Pillsbury’s experienced crisis management professionals are closely monitoring the global threat of COVID-19, drawing on the firm’s capabilities in supply chain management, insurance law, cybersecurity, employment law, corporate law and other areas to provide critical guidance to clients in an urgent and quickly evolving situation. For more thought leadership on this rapidly developing topic, please visit our COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Resource Center.