Emergency Regional Stay at Home Order
Stay Home, Save Lives
COVID-19 is surging in our community with unprecedented speed. ICUs are near capacity across the region.
Stay home, except for brief, essential trips.
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Emergency Stay Home Order
The entire Bay Area, including the City of Berkeley, is under an emergency Regional Stay at Home Order.
The Stay at Home Order was issued by the California Department of Public Health. due to regional ICU capacity falling below state thresholds and will remain in place until intensive care capacity returns to safer levels. The duration of the Order is determined by the State.
Please stay home as much as possible. Leave only briefly for essential services:
- Do not gather in person with anyone you don't live with.
- Do not travel outside the region.
- Avoid crowds while running essential errands.
- Wear a face covering, keep 6 feet apart from others, and wash/sanitize hands regularly when out.
COVID-19 is posing its most dangerous threat yet in this pandemic. Immediate, drastic action is needed to prevent our healthcare system from becoming overwhelmed.
Do not gather in person
The extremely high levels of transmission in our community right now make even previously low-risk activities - such as masked, outdoor, distanced gatherings - unsafe.
All gatherings with members of other households are prohibited during this Order, with limited exceptions for schools, childcare, and outdoor religious ceremonies.
Being in community gives us meaning. For the next month, we are now tasked with finding ways to do so without being physically together:
Temporary business closures
During this Order, most non-essential businesses must close. Businesses that remain open must increase safety protocols, and may need to modify operations.
Permitted to continue operating
The following sectors may remain open when a remote option is not possible, with appropriate COVID-19 preventative measures including ensuring 100 percent masking and physical distancing:
Temporary limits to sectors that remain open
The following sectors will need to implement additional modifications and ensure 100 percent masking and physical distancing:
- Retail stores: indoor operations permitted at 20% capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores.
- Grocery stores: indoor operations permitted at 35% capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores.
- Hotels and lodging: accepting reservations for non-essential out of state travel prohibited.
- Offices: remote only, except for critical infrastructure sectors where remote working is not possible.
- Places of worship and political expression: Only outdoor services permitted.
- Entertainment production including professional sports: operation permitted without live audiences.
- Outdoor recreational facilities: permitted only without any food, drink, or alcohol sales. Overnight stays at campgrounds prohibited.
The City will be opening playgrounds, play structures, athletic courts, sports fields, and climbing areas, in accordance with California Department of Public Health guidance for outdoor recreation facilities. Please enjoy these spaces alone or with members of your own household, only. Picnic areas will remain closed.
Temporary closures
These sectors must close while the Stay Home Order is in effect:
- outdoor dining (take-out, pick-up, and delivery are permitted)
- indoor recreational facilities
- hair salons, barbershops and personal care services
- museums & galleries
- movie theaters
- wineries, bars, breweries, and distilleries
- Limited services not included in critical infrastructure
Resources
Last updated January 4, 2021