Yolo orders mandatory shelter-in-place, day after county reports 2 new coronavirus cases
Yolo County is ordering its residents to shelter in place for nearly three weeks in an effort to slow the coronavirus pandemic.
The county and its public health officer in a statement said the order, which “limits activity, travel and business functions to only the most essential needs,” goes into effect Thursday and will last through at least April 7. Businesses not defined as essential must temporarily close.
The order is a legal mandate and violation of it is a misdemeanor “punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both,” the order states.
County spokeswoman Jenny Tan said health officials have talked with law enforcement officials, and asked them to educate people they approach who are violating the order.
“For the most part, they are going to do education and outreach,” she said. “We’re not going to take additional enforcement unless it is something egregious.”
Tan declined to say whether that additional enforcement, if needed, meant a fine, an arrest or some other action.
UC Davis shutting down
UC Davis’ main campus announced Wednesday afternoon that it would be suspending operations effective immediately in light of the new order.
In-person classes should stop, and all instruction would have to be delivered remotely moving forward. Researchers are expected to ramp down noncritical on-site work, according to the message from Chancellor Gary S. May to faculty and students. To complete online final exams, the library, computer labs, study spaces and classrooms will remain open through Sunday, March 22.
“Thank you for your patience and understanding during these uncertain times,” May said in the prepared remarks. “We’ll get through this, together”
The suspension of operations does not have a specific end date, but includes a note that “employees should assume they will work from home through April 7, unless they hear otherwise from their managers.”
Picnic Day, the celebratory spring open house in April for the school that draws more than 50,000 annually, was canceled earlier this month, as UC Davis aimed to reduce the spread of the virus.
A UC Davis student got tested for the novel coronavirus last month after they were exposed to someone who had tested positive, causing some anxiety among the nearly 40,000 students on campus. The student tested ultimately did not have the virus.
Similar to Bay Area order
The Yolo restrictions are essentially the same as those imposed by Bay Area counties and by Sacramento County, but includes an additional directive regarding agriculture: Any agricultural production and processing will be allowed to continue at normal production levels.
Tan also said that residents are encouraged to shop at local businesses that remain open, including ordering take-out from restaurants, or ordering online from companies that have closed brick-and-mortar operations.
Yolo County has so far confirmed four cases of the coronavirus, known as COVID-19, with two of the cases being disclosed Tuesday.
The city of Davis on Tuesday strongly recommended its residents shelter in place, but stopped short of a legal mandate.
Yolo now joins at least 10 Bay Area counties that have implemented legally binding orders this week, following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s directive that gatherings of all sizes must cease and that nonessential businesses, establishments and schools should suspend operations, an unprecedented campaign intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“These are extremely difficult times. The COVID-19 virus continues to spread around the world and in our local communities,” Yolo County Public Health Officer Dr. Ron Chapman said in statement by the county. “We need to do everything we can to protect our most vulnerable people from the harmful impacts of the virus.”
This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 11:26 AM.
