Santa Clara County Relaxes Shelter Orders

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, CA — Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody announced amendments to shelter-in-place orders Monday that will relax some restrictions residents have lived under for more than two months.

Outdoor dining, in-store retail, childcare and summer camps are among the activities that will be allowed under newly announced amendments to shelter-in-place orders.

The amendments go into effect on Friday.

Cody, heralded the “Bay Area’s Anthony Fauci” in a San Jose Mercury News cover story in March, is considered the architect of shelter orders adopted by most of the Bay Area that at the time were some of the toughest ever implemented in the United States.

The shelter orders went into effect March 17.

Cody’s announcement on Monday included an oblique acknowledgement of the moment the country finds itself in amid ongoing protests of the killing of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis on Memorial Day.

“As a community and as a nation, we are experiencing some of the most difficult and challenging times many of us have ever experienced,” Cody said in a statement.

“The COVID-19 virus has had an impact on every aspect of our lives. It has been particularly devasting to low income communities and communities of color in our county and across our state and nation. This has been compounded by structural inequities that exist in our society that are unjust, persistent, and damaging.”

Despite the lifting of restrictions, all social distancing guidelines will remain in effect.

No-contact in-home services like house cleaning, and other low-contact service businesses such as shoe repair will be allowed to reopen.

All children are now permitted to take part in childcare, summer camps, summer school, or other educational and recreational programs, so long as groups are limited to 12 or fewer.

Outdoor gatherings of up to 25 will be allowed for religious services and cultural ceremonies.

Outdoor recreational activities that do not involve physical contact and adhere to social distancing protocols, such as swimming pools, will also be allowed to resume.

Car-based gatherings such as drive-in theaters will be permitted too.

Earlier in the day, Public Health Officers across the Bay Area issued a joint statement affirming their commitment “to work together as a region; to ensure our decisions are data-driven; to take steps that are measured, careful, and to allow sufficient time between significant changes.”

Monday’s announcement builds on amendments issued on May 4 and May 22 to shelter orders allowing construction and outdoor businesses to resume operation and retail businesses to open for curbside pick-up along with associated manufacturing and logistics.

“The global pandemic is ongoing, and we must continue to protect the health and wellbeing of our entire community, especially those most vulnerable to serious illness and death from COVID-19,” Cody said.

“Public Health is about ensuring health in every sense of the word: from diseases like COVID-19, and from social and economic impacts on health too. For all those reasons, we have chosen to be measured in how and when we reopen.”

Full coronavirus coverage: Coronavirus In California: What To Know