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As coronavirus cases continued to climb alarmingly, two other Bay Area counties – San Francisco and San Mateo – have entered the state’s most restrictive reopening level, purple, which will result in closing most remaining indoor activities on Sunday and will put residents under a curfew from Monday. night.
Meanwhile, Santa Clara County, which is already in the purple level, as of Sunday announced new restrictions that go even further than state rules. That included a quarantine for returning travelers, extremely strict indoor capacity limits for stores and an effective ban on San Francisco 49ers games at Levi’s Stadium.
“This pandemic is like a bullet train, and our projections tell us that we are on the verge of derailment by the third week of December if we do not apply the brakes now with all of our collective might,” said Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody, adding that Thanksgiving gatherings could make matters worse. The county saw its highest number of cases in one day, 747, on Saturday, and hospitalizations more than doubled in less than three weeks.
The nine Bay Area counties together reported 2,027 new cases on Saturday – a new daily record, according to data reported by the county health department and compiled by The Chronicle and Los Angeles Times. That number does not include data from Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties, which had yet to report today’s new cases or which were not reporting them over the weekend. The previous day’s high was 1836 on August 14, when the state cleared the backlog of its summer computer problem.
All of the Bay Area counties except Marin are now in the purple level of the state’s reopening plan. Calaveras, Lake, Modoc and Plumas counties were also returned to the purple level on Saturday, while Alpine, Inyo and Mariposa counties returned to the red level.
San Francisco and San Mateo counties’ new purple level designation means they must stop indoor activities in museums, cinemas, gyms (except for one-on-one training, San Francisco mayor said. , London Breed) and places of worship. Indoor dining is also prohibited – so all restaurants in the Bay Area will now be outdoor only. (San Mateo County had been the only one to prevent indoor dining, since San Francisco and Marin County, which remains in the red level, recently shut it down even though the state did not have them. required at the time.)
The restrictions go into effect in San Francisco at noon Sunday, though some attractions including the de Young Museum, the Legion of Honor, the Asian Art Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the SkyStar Wheel of the Golden Gate Park, have said they will. welcome their last visitors on Saturday. The curfew will be in effect from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting Monday evening for both counties. It forces people to stay home during those hours except for essential activities including certain jobs, groceries, doctor’s visits, and dog walking or exercise. Restaurants in particular may be affected, as some serve customers after 10 p.m.
The purple designation marks a steep drop for San Francisco, which was in the state’s least restrictive yellow level less than a month ago. Cases have risen sharply in the past four weeks, public health officials said. The city’s number of new cases averaged 130 per day last week, up from 73 per day in the first week of November. Francisco reported 256 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday, a record.
“This is the most aggressive wave SF has seen to date,” the Mayor of London Breed wrote on Twitter.
She added: “We all need to do our part, now more than ever, to stop the spread of COVID-19. It means doubling down on what we all do: wear a mask, stay away from others, don’t congregate with people outside your household, and wash your hands frequently.
Archbishop of San Francisco Salvatore Cordileone said he plans to speak with lawyers and potentially take legal action in light of the ban on covered churches, calling it “blatant discrimination” and highlighting the recent Supreme Court ruling banning restrictions on religious services in New York City.
“Catholics in San Francisco are absolutely committed to public safety by organizing worship services,” he said in a statement. “Our protocols require masks, social distancing, sanitation and ventilation. But the government still chooses to view worship as less important than buying shoes. “
Stores in San Francisco must reduce capacity to 25%, with the exception of grocery stores which can operate with 50% capacity in the purple level.
San Mateo County is also facing a big increase, with an increase of about 85% in new cases from October to November.
“We haven’t seen numbers like this in quite a while and we really need to reverse this incredibly disturbing trend,” San Mateo County Manager Mike Callagy said in a statement.
San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa attributed part of the rise in the number of cases in the county to an increase in testing, in addition to the surge itself. “We are well positioned to manage this increase given the hospital capacity we have and the resources needed to fight COVID,” he said in a statement.
With the new restrictions in San Mateo County, Jing Chen, co-owner of Therapy Stores, a women’s clothing and home decor store in Burlingame, said only seven people would be allowed into the store at a time. Chen said that while she is concerned about her business, she understands why the metrics are important.
“As a trader in the community, we just have to do it. It’s not just about me. We’re in the same boat, ”she said.
In Santa Clara County, grocery stores, drugstores and drugstores will now be limited to 25% of capacity – that was 50% – and other indoor stores are to remain at only 10% of capacity (previously 25%) . Another novelty is that people must be quarantined for 14 days upon returning to the county if they have traveled more than 150 kilometers away, and travel is strongly discouraged. Outdoor meals are still permitted.
Santa Clara County is also banning all contact sports with people outside of its home, which means the 49ers will have to find a new home in the short term. The directive, which will last until at least December 21, is also having an impact on the Stanford and San Jose State teams.
“We’ve come to a place where our cases and hospitalizations are so high that we have to do something to sort things out,” said Cody, the county health official. “I have been sounding the alarm bells on the rising rate of cases and hospitalizations for some time and we are now at a critical inflection point. In fact, what we do and what we don’t do as of today can mean a matter of life and death for many people living in our county.
Health officials from four Bay Area counties – Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and San Francisco – as well as the city of Berkeley on Saturday expressed support for the new restrictions in Santa Clara County, and said in a statement. communicated that they “may also have to take similar action soon.” in order to preserve the remaining regional hospital capacity. “
Although the strictest in the Bay Area, the rules in Santa Clara County don’t go as far as those in Los Angeles County, which issued a new stay-at-home order that goes into effect Monday and bans most gatherings until at least December 20. Do not meet with people outside your home, ”pleaded Saturday Dr. Barbara Ferrer, director of public health of the county.
In Palo Alto, Mary Jaiswal, the owner of the Cielo clothing store, had yet to hear the news of the reduction in retail capacity in Santa Clara County to 10% occupancy – but she has stated that this would not affect her ultimately as she is already limited. the number of people allowed in the store to four at a time.
Jaiswal, who has been in business for more than 30 years, said business this holiday season has so far been down 50% to 60%. The pandemic “has been very difficult for us – there are only a few people trying to help and shop,” she said. “It’s the worst ever, but we always try to stay positive.”
Tony Bravo, editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, contributed to this report.
Janelle Bitker, Erin Allday, and Sarah Ravani are editors of the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Twitter: @janellebitker, @erinallday, @SarRavani
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