Mayor London Breed
(Photo : Reuters)

Mayor London Breed announced on Monday through a press conference that the entire San Franciso will be in a total lockdown starting Tuesday midnight that will last up to three weeks.

San Francisco is now joining five other Bay Area counties in issuing a "stat at home" after schools were shut down and gatherings were suspended since last week. The five other counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, and San Mateo.

This means that with the pronouncement of the county Mayor London Breed, residents are not allowed to leave their residences unless they buy basic needs, visit their doctor, or will buy groceries and medicine. This is until April 7 this year.

Meanwhile, non-essential businesses such as bars and gyms are required to be closed until such order is lifted. While businesses that have important roles in the community like pharmacies and banks are allowed to open. This is imposed under a city-issued Public Order.

Breed said during the press conference must remain all calm and she also emphasized that all essentials continue to be met. She also explained: "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."

In order to fully implement the order, Police Chief Bill Scott that violations of the city order are punishable by a misdemeanor. However, Scott added that they are going to be compassionate and with a common-sense approach. They are looking forward to the voluntary compliance of people living in San Franciso.

Moreover, Sen. Scott Wiener and assembly members Phil Ting and David Chiu released a joint statement. the officials said: "We are in unprecedented times. We know that people are hurting, financially and otherwise. This short-term pain will help us avoid much more severe long-term consequences."

San Franciso has reached 40 confirmed cases od COVID-19 on Monda morning since the presence of the infectious virus was first detected in the early days of March. Santa Clara County has the highest case so far among the Bay Area counties.

The following are the things that residents in San Francisco must strictly observe according to a recently published article:

  • Residents are still allowed to take a walk and to walk their pets outside provided that they need to strictly observe social distancing or practice 6-feet-away from others who are not members of the household.
  • Government services like fire, police, transit, and healthcare will still operate.
  • Homeless are not subject to the order but they are encouraged to look for shelter.
  • Restaurants are not allowed to open but they are allowed to operate through delivery and take-out.

Head of San Francisco's Department of Public Health Dr. Grant Colfax said: "Based on what we can predict, now is the time to do everything that we can to prevent the situation from getting much worse in a matter of days or weeks ."

Dr. Colfax also asserted that non-essential travels are prohibited and those who plan to leave San Francisco starting midnight Tuesday for a vacation until April 7 will be considered as non-compliance with the released order. However, he clarified that residents of San Francisco who are still out of the county can still go back.

Breed along with the support of the Board of Supervisors has already enacted a moratorium on evicting tenants who cannot pay their rent and has also allowed delayed payment of small businesses in their city tax until next year.