San Francisco announced on Thursday that it is extending its quarantine orders for home stay and for 10-day trips.
Both requests will remain in effect until California withdraws its stay request throughout the Bay Area. Even so, San Francisco authorities will reevaluate data related to the coronavirus, such as the availability of beds in the intensive care unit, to ensure that they feel comfortable relaxing current restrictions.
“We have been proactive in placing the order to stay at home and travel quarantine to protect the Franciscans and in the hope that, acting quickly, we can level the curve and reopen faster,” said Mayor London Breed in a statement. “This seems to be working, but we need more time to determine if we are going in the right direction and that the December holidays are not delaying us. There are glimpses of hope and now is not the time to give up.”
The travel quarantine order, which was implemented on December 17, requires people traveling from outside the bay area to San Francisco to be quarantined for 10 days.
The city and county home order came into effect on December 3. Two weeks later, she was required by the state on her order to stay in a regional home due to the availability of ICU beds in the San Francisco Bay region dropping to less than 15%. The state could suspend its request for the Bay Area region as early as January 7, but San Francisco does not expect that to happen due to the increase in the number of taxed cases and ICUs.
San Francisco said that both health orders appear to have lowered the rate of infection.
“Although cases continue to increase, they are increasing at a slower rate than when the orders were implemented,” the city and county said in a statement. “As a result of our collective actions, more than 400 deaths may have prevented it.”