What can — and can’t — you do this time around?
No outdoor dining, gatherings; ‘If you have a social bubble, it is now popped’
Five Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley on Friday announced that they are rapidly adopting new, tougher COVID-19 activity restrictions rather than wait for the middle of the month when the region’s intensive care unit bed capacities are anticipated to trigger the state’s new, stricter stay-at-home rules.
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and Santa Clara County are admonishing all nonessential gatherings among people in different households and curtailing outdoor activity to levels ordered by health officials near the start of the pandemic in March. Among other things, that means outdoor dining will be shut down and retail businesses will have to shrink capacity further.
To sum it up, health officials are urging us to stay home as much as possible. Here is a closer
look at the new directives.
When it goes into effect
In Contra Costa, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, the rules take effect at 10 p.m. Sunday. Alameda County and Berkeley will start a couple of hours later, at 12:01 a.m. Monday. In Marin County, the new rules start at noon Tuesday.
Who isn’t participating
In the Bay Area, San Mateo, Solano, Sonoma and Napa counties are not joining the early adoption of the state rules, which means they will automatically kick in when the region’s availability of ICU beds falls below 15%. Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, which the state included in its Bay Area region, are also not participating.
Gatherings
Bay Area residents have until now been allowed to gather outdoors with people from no more than three households, with mask- wear ing and so - cial distancing. Under the new rules, health officials are forbidding any out- ofhousehold gatherings. As Dr. Lisa Hernandez, health officer for the city of Berkeley, put it Friday, “If you have a social bubble, it is now popped.”
However, religious worship and protests and demonstrations, which are constitutionally protected, are allowed but have to be outdoors. People who are unhoused are also exempt.
Also in- school learning that is already underway is exempted, provided that established safety protocols are obeyed.
Dining
The new restrictions prohibit outdoor dining again, with officials advising restaurants and other eateries to switch or move solely to
delivery and takeout food service. Indoor dining is prohibited. Wineries, bars, breweries and distilleries must close.
Retail
Retailers are allowed indoor business at no more than 20% capacity with mask and distancing protocols and must closely count how many people are inside. In-store consumption of food and beverages is prohibited.
Grocery stores are required to maintain no higher than 50% capacity
in all but Marin County, which is in a less restrictive reopening tier and can run at full capacity.
Schools
As mentioned above, child care, prekindergarten and K-12 schools already open for in-person learning may remain open with masking and social distancing protocols.
Outdoor activity
Outdoor recreation facilities, such as parks, are generally allowed to remain open but are prohib
ited from operating food or drink service.
T he new restrictions also require closure of indoor and outdoor playgrounds. At campgrounds, overnight stays are suspended.
Other services and activities
Barbershops, hair salons and other personal care services are barred from staying open, along with museums, zoos and aquariums, theaters, family entertainment centers, card rooms, live sporting events and amusement parks.
Sporting events
Cal Athletics and the Golden State Warriors are allowed to continue their practice and other activities locally provided they submit a safety plan to health officials in their respective jurisdictions.
Santa Clara County has instituted a ban on contact sports, which has prompted the San Francisco 49ers, and the Stanford and San Jose State football teams, to travel out of state to play their upcoming games.
Additional restrictions
Tighter rules mandated by Santa Clara County last weekend remain in effect, including a mandatory 14day quarantine for travelers coming from greater than 150 miles from the county’s borders. The county will change its 10% retail capacity limit for stores and malls to 20% to align with the state.
Enforcement
As with the original stayhome order, violations are misdemeanors punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. But health officials and law- enforcement agencies have acknowledged aggressive enforcement is not feasible and are relying on warnings and education to achieve compliance. Still, businesses and some places of worship have been fined for not adhering to safety protocols.