Davis asks residents to ‘shelter in place’ as Yolo confirms 3rd, 4th coronavirus cases
The City of Davis is “urging” residents to shelter in place due to the coronavirus outbreak, in line with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s directive Monday that all gatherings of any size should cease statewide to slow the pandemic’s spread.
Davis is “recommending individuals stay at home and only leave their homes for essential purposes, such as necessary medical appointments, grocery shopping or picking up prepared meals at a restaurant, and traveling to perform essential job functions,” a Tuesday afternoon news release by Davis City Hall explains.
“Additionally, while walking in public places, people are strongly encouraged to practice social distancing and keep a distance of six feet from each other.”
The city has also instructed local restaurants to transition to takeout and delivery service only, and asked residents to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day at home, the news release said.
The decision comes about 24 hours after six Bay Area counties legally mandated a shelter-in-place order, which requires residents to remain in their homes except for essential purposes.
“This is a challenging time for us all, and we are asking residents to look out for their neighbors by practicing social distancing,” Davis Mayor Brett Lee said in a prepared statement. “The city is working closely with the Yolo County Health Department to encourage practices to keep the community safe and healthy.”
Davis, home of the large University of California campus in Yolo County, has a population of about 70,000.
Yolo County discloses two new coronavirus cases
Public health officials in Yolo County on Tuesday have disclosed two new, confirmed cases of the coronavirus for a total of four.
The county’s third case was described in an update by the county Tuesday morning as a young adult “with a chronic health problem” who was hospitalized and confirmed positive for COVID-19. The patient has since been released “and is doing well,” the county said in a statement.
A few hours later, the county confirmed its fourth case, an older adult who had recently traveled and is now isolating at home.
The county says health officials believe the younger patient acquired the coronavirus through community transmission. This patient was described only as a “young adult” with a more precise age range not given, and the county says it will not be releasing further information about either patient’s geographic location or the younger patient’s underlying medical condition due to health privacy laws.
Both of the two earlier confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Yolo County were described as older individuals. One of them was also believed to have been infected via community transmission, while the other had recently returned to the area after traveling, the county said in previous updates.
The two new cases in Yolo come as nearby Sacramento County reports 40 total, confirmed cases of COVID-19 including two deaths, and with Placer County as of a Monday update reporting eight positive tests and one death thus far.
The California Department of Public Health in an update of statewide numbers earlier Tuesday said 472 cases of the coronavirus and 11 deaths have been confirmed.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 12:01 PM.
