Shelter-In-Place Order Now Indefinite; Some Restrictions Eased

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA — Santa Cruz County will extend its shelter-in-place order indefinitely as officials continue efforts to decelerate the spread of the new coronavirus. The new order goes into effect beginning Saturday, May 2.

County Health Officer Gail Newel said the new order will allow some businesses to reopen and activities to resume, though people must follow social distancing and face covering requirements.

"I want the community to hear very clearly that they are doing a fantastic job and as a result we can open up some activities," she said.

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Easing Restrictions

Landscaping and construction may resume, and golf courses/driving ranges may reopen, with certain requirements to be clarified in the order, Newel said. Agriculture and landscaping may reopen, as will nurseries and gardening stores to support such activities.

Child care and some educational and recreational activities for kids in groups of 12 people or smaller will be allowed.

Fabric and craft stores will open for the sale of materials used to make protective gear such as masks and gowns, she said.

Real estate can continue and moving will be allowed, though anyone moving in or out of the county should quarantine for 14 days in their new residence, Newel said.

"It's going to be a new normal of sorts that's going to need to have that social distancing requirement be part of our activities," Newel said.

The county has previously said that vacation rentals, such as those booked through Airbnb and VRBO, should only continue operating if they are housing emergency or public safety workers, medical workers, essential workers, or families providing critical health care needs for local relatives.

Newel said vacation rental operators will now need to keep record of why travelers were using the rental. Owners and travelers can be penalized.

Nonessential stays at hotels, motels and the like are still banned.

Santa Cruz County will defer to Newsom's order on health care, which allows: elective surgeries at hospitals; medical and ancillary care offices to open for preventative care; and well-woman exams, including mammograms and pap smears. Kids are urged to get back on schedule with vaccinations, Newel said.

Newel said May 5 that the county was waiting on the state to clarify its position on dentistry and advised dentists to follow state operational guidelines in the meantime.

Social gatherings will be among the last restrictions to be lifted, she said.

The county said Wednesday that it plans to shut down beaches from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning this weekend.

There was some speculation that Newsom would call for beach closures statewide and override the Santa Cruz County order, though he only ordered Orange County beaches closed. Visitors flocked to Orange County beaches over the weekend amid a heat wave in Southern California.

California is under an indefinite stay-at-home order, though state officials unveiled a plan for restarting public life this week.

California law dictates that emergency order violations can be punishable with a $1,000 fine and/or jail time.

More Testing?

While Newel said Santa Cruz County still does not have adequate testing capacity to meet demand, county Health Services Agency Director Mimi Hall said officials are working to get to a point where anyone who is displaying symptoms can be tested.

Santa Cruz County is currently working to set up a so-called specimen collection site at Ramsay Park in Watsonville that will be staffed by OptumServe Health Services, a government contractor working with California. Officials are not referring to the site as a testing site because people won't be able to walk in and request a test; patients must have a doctor's referral and make an appointment.

"It helps us immensely to have OptumServe come in and do that for us," Hall said.

Officials were initially hoping to have the site up and running by Monday, but it's looking like the opening will be delayed until later in the week, Hall said.

Hall believes it could take about four days to get results, so lower-priority patients who don't need quick results will likely be sent there.

New Leaf

Newel also gave an update on cases of the new coronavirus at New Leaf. Though 13 employees have tested positive, no cases have been detected in shoppers and casual contacts, she said. There has been one close contact cases linked to the New Leaf outbreak.

All 80 workers have been tested. Half of those tests came back negative and officials are waiting on the remainder of the tests.

In addition to temporarily closing the Aptos store, posting public notices on its website and notifying employees employees, New Leaf is now taking employees' temperatures and screening them for signs of COVID-19 before they enter the building. All workers must wear masks while on the site and maintain six feet of distance between each other and customers.

Read the full order here.

More News From Patch:

• Santa Cruz Coronavirus News
• Watsonville Coronavirus News
• California Coronavirus News