Coronavirus: Shelter In Place Order Issued For Santa Cruz County

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Santa Cruz County has issued a shelter in place order from Tuesday, March 17 to Tuesday, April 7 in hopes to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. Residents are ordered to go in public only for essential activities such as getting groceries, health care, child care and medications.

Nine cases of the virus have been confirmed in Santa Cruz County as of Monday. The county is considered to have community spread, since public health officials are unsure of how some patients became infected.

The news came hours after six counties in the immediate Bay Area announced a similar order.

Don't miss updates about precautions in Santa Cruz County as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters here.

Santa Cruz County said in a statement that it is permissible for people to leave the house for facilities related to the following activities defined as essential: law and safety; essential government services; health care; pharmacies; child care; farming; groceries; food retailers; telecommunications; reduced capacity restaurants; hotels; social services; establishments; agencies that service the needy; gas stations; banks; laundry businesses; safety and sanitation businesses.

(See the full list in the order embedded below.)

The county said it is working to create contingency plans to protect vulnerable and needy residents, and ensure their needs are met.

Soon after the shelter in place order, the Santa Cruz Police Department notified the public that its front lobby would be closed until further notice.

Two weeks ago Santa Cruz County issued a Local Health Emergency for the new coronavirus due to concerns about its spread in neighboring counties and a need to prepare for a potential outbreak.

Anyone with concerns about their health should contact their doctor or call 211 to find a local clinic. The county encourages the public to visit santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus for local updates and links to important CDC updates.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency to provide additional resources, prevent price gouging and help the state better prepare for the virus's spread.

The emergency declaration followed the first known coronavirus-related death in California — an elderly Placer County resident who was exposed to the virus on a Grand Princess cruise Feb. 11-21 from San Francisco to Mexico and back.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.
The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Read more about the coronavirus outbreak here on the CDC website.

Read the full order below: