OAKLAND — The San Francisco Bay Area is preparing to lock down for the next three weeks.
Six Bay Area counties will direct nearly 7 million residents to shelter in place through April 7, according to a memo obtained by POLITICO, in the most drastic effort yet in the U.S. to contain the spread of coronavirus and forestall health systems becoming overwhelmed with new cases.
The order is expected to encompass Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. It will permit some essential activities, though the memo does not specify what that category entails. And the memo specifies that it's counting on Californians to comply without being compelled by enforcement.
"While the Order is mandatory, the expectation is that most people and business will comply to insure the safety of everyone," the memo says.
The evening before, Gov. Gavin Newsom directed more than 5.3 million elderly Californians and those with existing health conditions to self-isolate at home. Newsom also ordered bars to close and restaurants to restrict the number of customers they serve.
In going significantly further than that, Bay Area leaders are acknowledging the risk to one of California's main population centers that is also the state's economic powerhouse in the modern tech era. The restrictions are expected to include Santa Clara County, which has been the epicenter of new infections in California and is the heart of the Silicon Valley.