Yolo County issues mandatory isolation order for people with COVID-19
Yolo County is now requiring any person who tests positive for COVID-19 to isolate at home for 10 days, and notify people they’ve been in recent close contact with that they must stay home as well.
If a person tests positive, or a person has been knowingly exposed to the virus, “compliance with COVID-19 isolation and quarantine requirements is vital” to curb the spread of the virus, county officials said in a press release Friday.
County officials say they have “identified instances” where people have tested positive or have been exposed to the coronavirus and are continuing to go out in the community.
“This hinders contact tracing efforts and threatens the overall health and safety of the community,” the county said.
It is one of the strictest and most explicit orders in the state, backed by the force of law, and comes as Yolo County has seen coronavirus cases balloon over the last month. Nearly 1,300 people have been infected in the county thus far, and 37 people have died from the virus since the pandemic started.
Under the new order issued by interim public health officer Dr. Mary Ann Limbos, people who test positive for COVID-19 — regardless of their symptoms — may not leave their place of isolation or enter any other public or private place for 10 days, “except to receive necessary medical care or during an emergency that requires evacuation to protect the health and safety of the person.”
In addition, infected individuals are required to tell people they have been in close contact with 48 hours before symptoms began (or for those without symptoms, 48 hours before taking the COVID-19 test) that they also need to quarantine because they’ve been exposed to the virus. That directive comes as the county contact tracers struggle to keep up the fast-growing number of cases in recent weeks.
Health workers and first responders exposed to the virus may be exempt from quarantining if they inform their employer, show no symptoms, and the employer determines they are needed at work based on staffing need.
“Close contacts” include anyone who was within six feet of the infected person for 15 minutes or longer. Close contacts exposed to the virus can stop quarantining when the person who exposed them has finished their isolation period.
The order takes effect immediately, and does not have an end date.
Yolo has been one of the most aggressive counties in the Sacramento region in combating the pandemic. It was one of the first counties to require masks in public before the statewide order, and earlier this month it announced it would fine businesses violating mask requirements up to $10,000.
Violating the new order constitutes “an imminent threat and menace to public health,” according to the order, and is subject to penalties including citation or fine. The order requests that Yolo County Sheriff’s Office and city police departments “ensure compliance with and enforce this Order.”
Though the order only applies to people who test positive and the individuals they’ve had close contact with, Yolo County is also urging anyone who takes a COVID-19 test and has symptoms to also stay home even before they get results back.
In recent weeks, limited testing supplies at labs across the state have slowed the turnaround for results significantly, meaning some Yolo County residents don’t get results back until after they’re infectious.
Yolo County officials argue it’s better for people to be proactive before they even receive their results. On Friday, the county released new instructions of how to isolate or quarantine, and officials said they will be providing additional guidance at testing sites moving forward.
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 10:23 AM.