The city of San Francisco and several of its surrounding counties will be required to stay at home, aside from grabbing “essential needs” in a mandate that was handed down by Mayor London Breed on Monday.
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The “shelter in place” order which will affect roughly 6.7 million people, is set to begin at midnight until April 7 according to Breed’s directive during Monday’s press conference, according to NBC Bay Area. A list of what is considered to be an essential need can be found here.
This makes San Francisco the largest U.S. city to place an in-home curfew/stay at home order. “These measures will be disruptive to daily life, but there is no need to panic,” Breed said.
Grocery stores, gas stations, banks and essential government services like sanitation pick up will continue. However, bars gyms will close while restaurants will only remain open for takeout and delivery as the CDC advised on Sunday evening that groups of 50 people or more should refrain from convening. When leaving the house, residents are expected to stay at least six feet apart from those who are not household members.
The date of April 7 will remain on review as health officials advise in this rapidly changing public health event.
Breed’s directive is the strictest measure being taken, likening to rules officials overseas have implemented in countries like Italy, Spain and France. If people are caught out of compliance, they will be cited as a misdemeanor.
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“We know these measures will significantly disrupt people’s day to day lives, but they are absolutely necessary,” Breed said in a statement. “This is going to be a defining moment for our City and we all have a responsibility to do our part to protect our neighbors and slow the spread of this virus by staying at home unless it is absolutely essential to go outside. I want to encourage everyone to remain calm and emphasize that all essential needs will continue to be met. San Francisco has overcome big challenges before and we will do it again, together.”
