Sacramento County issues formal order for residents to stay at home as coronavirus spreads
Sacramento on Thursday joined several other Northern California counties in formally ordering residents to remain in their homes and to go out for essential chores — a drastic curtailment of societal functions that public health officials say is vital to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
The order carries the force of law. Earlier this week, County Health Director Peter Beilenson announced the same restrictions, but issued them in the form of a directive, which did not have the force of law. A violation of the order can be treated as a misdemeanor crime. Yolo County issued the same order on Wednesday.
Beilenson and other county leaders said the intent is not to cite or arrest anyone, but to have the ability to require bars to close and restaurants to only serve take-out of delivery food.
Beilenson and Sacramento County Board Chairman Phil Serna were joined by Sheriff Scott Jones and District Attorney Ann Schubert in announcing the order, which will go into effect at the end of the day Thursday.
“As of March 19, 2020, at 11:59 p.m., the Sacramento County Health Officer is directing all individuals living in the county to stay at their place of residence except for essential activities,” officials said in a statement. “The legal order is based on the same directives of social distancing issued this week to slow the transmission of the disease, but it provides more detail and enforcement ability.
“To slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, the legal order limits activity, travel and business functions to only the most essential needs and is intended to protect those most vulnerable to the disease, and preserve local healthcare capacity.”
The order includes all incorporated cities — Sacramento city, Elk Grove, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Citrus Heights, Galt and Isleton — and unincorporated areas including Arden Arcade, Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Foothill Farms, North Highlands, Antelope, La Riviera, Gold River, Vineyard, Elverta, Rio Linda, Orangevale, Mather, Rancho Murieta, Walnut Grove, Wilton and the Delta areas east of the Sacramento River.
“If there’s anybody who’s flippant about this, that is unacceptable,” said Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg. “If you’re flippant about this you are putting yourself, your loved ones, and many people at risk of serious illness or death.”
The order will be in effect until April 7 unless county officials announce a shortening or lengthening of the order. Gov. Gavin Newsom in a Wednesday evening video update said the next two months are a critical period for slowing the rising curve of the coronavirus spread.
“Today’s ‘Stay At Home’ order concludes a deliberative thought process that considers both the public’s critical role in slowing virus transmission and that emphasizes Sacramento County’s function as the steward of public health protection,” said Sacramento Supervisor Phil Serna. He added, “Today’s order reasonably balances a dire need to limit the spread of COVID-19 with great respect for everyone’s civil liberties, and our community’s continuing reliance on essential activities.”
Sheriff and DA on enforcement, arrests
Schubert in particular stressed the urgency of the moment and the need for people to take this order – and the virus threat – seriously, but not to panic.
“It is everyone’s moral responsibility to act today, not tomorrow or next week,” she said. “Time isn’t the main thing. Time is the only thing right now.”
She pointed out that the law “allows harsher penalties” in urgency moments, but said, “we don’t want to have anybody arrested during this crisis. We do not want to prosecute anybody.”
Sheriff Jones said he was representing the county department and police chiefs in cities in the county. “Neither the sheriff nor any of the police (departments) have any desire to make any arrest. We view our role as more of education.”
Her said local law enforcement agencies have full staffing and will respond to the public as they normally do, but may ask virus-related “screening” questions when called to a residence or incident site.
The Sacramento Police Department later echoed Jones’ comments. “A violation of this order could result in criminal or administrative penalties,” the police said in a public statement. “It is important to know that the Sacramento Police Department’s primary goal is to gain willing compliance through education.”
More infections, another death
As of Wednesday, 45 people in Sacramento County have tested positive for coronavirus – up from 40 on Tuesday –and three people have died. County officials said the third death was a person over age 70 with existing underlying health issues. All three deaths in the county have been older people with compromised health condition prior to contracting the virus, Beilenson said. County officials have declined to offer details about individual infection cases.
However, the number of infected people in the county, state and nationally is likely considerably higher than published numbers because the number of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 tested cases has been so limited so far, Beilenson said.
Sacramento now joins most greater Bay Area counties, including, Contra Costa, Alameda, Solano, Yolo, Napa, San Mateo and Santa Clara in taking the legal step.
The unprecedented step goes beyond the restrictions Newsom laid out on Sunday. Newsom as well called for people not to congregate and for bars, restaurants, gyms and other group places to close, but couched that as a request, not an order.
San Francisco Mayor London Breed was the first on Monday to turn the request into an order in her county, simultaneously with five other bay counties.
Critical time in fight against COVID-19
Federal, state and local authorities, and officials with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are uniformly calling the moment a critical juncture of the United States to attempt to slow the spread of the virus so that the country’s already strained healthcare system does not become overwhelmed with series cases.
Newsom on Wednesday night reiterated that concern, and said the state is working quickly to bring two hospitals online to deal with the crisis, one in the north state, one in the south, and is in talks with the federal government to get a hospital ship stationed off the coast of California.
Hospital officials are clearing space for an expected increase, potentially dramatic, in patient loads.
Sacramento officials said they initially did not want to alarm residents by issuing a full “stay at home” order, and chose instead on Tuesday to make it a strong recommendation. The gravity of the moment and the desire to align with other Northern California counties precipitated today’s decision to step up to a full order.
County officials in Yolo and Bay Area counties reiterated they do not intend to arrest or cite people, unless they run into an egregious situation where residents or businesses are refusing to cease their activities.
Sacramento officials are expected to explain where they stand on police and sheriff involvement during a morning press conference.
The new order though does allow officials to enlist law enforcement officers to proactively educate people about the rules and tell institutions, such as bars, that they must close.
Residents can still go to work, if their supervisors say they are needed at the workplace. The county is asking, though, that all non-essential workers be told to go home and work from home instead.
“The intent of this Order is to ensure that the maximum number of people self-isolate in their places of residence to the maximum extent feasible, while enabling essential services to continue, to slow the spread of COVID-19 to the maximum extent possible.”
The order allows people to leave their house to go for walks, exercise, and do go to open businesses, including grocery stores, banks, laundromats, hardware stores, health care facilities, pharmacies, pet food stores, and a few other businesses that are essential to basic household functioning.
In public, though, the order is for people to remain six feet apart. Grocery stores have been given the OK to limit the number of people in the store at one time to assure that people in the store can remain six feet apart, including in the checkout line.
Close businesses, conduct social distancing
The order states that while non-essential businesses must be closed to the public, business owners and supervisors are allowed to be on site to conduct “minimum basic operations.”
County residents are allowed to have visitors in their homes, though health chief Beilenson said that should involve no more than six people, and only people who are healthy, and should include social distancing of at least six feet during those gatherings.
The order states that “all public and private gatherings of any number of people occurring outside a household or living unit are prohibited, except for the limited purposes as expressly permitted. “
Bingo halls and card rooms are on the list of events that are required to close. Essential businesses that can remain open include but are not limited to grocery stores, healthcare facilities, agricultural production and processing companies, banks, gas stations and laundromats, among others.
Serna said the order represents a logical step as officials both understand the pandemic and deal with it.
“Each successive day for the past two weeks, local jurisdictions across Northern California have issued additional guidance and direction to limit the spread of COVID-19. Sacramento County has been no different,” Serna said. “With today’s announcement, we have in place a well-planned enforceable ‘order,’ and this latest step represents the conclusion of several sequential actions that have deliberately slowed virus transmission to date, and that will continue doing so well into the future.”
The county issued a list of essential activities, as follows:
▪ Engaging in activities or perform tasks essential to health and safety, or to the health and safety of their family or household members, such as, obtaining medical supplies or medication, visiting a health care professional, or obtaining supplies they need to work from home.
▪ Obtaining necessary services or supplies for themselves and their family or household members, or to deliver those services or supplies to others, such as food and other grocery and cleaning products.
▪ Engaging in outdoor activity, provided the individuals comply with Social Distancing Requirements as defined in this Section, such as walking, hiking, biking, running or equestrian activities.
▪ Performing work to provide essential products and services at essential businesses and government entities as well other nonprofit organizations.
▪ Caring for a family member or pet in another household.
▪ Attending private gatherings of not more than six non-relatives in a home or place of residence.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 11:02 AM.