Coronavirus in Marin County

This Order becomes effective at 12:01 am on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.

This Order is in effect in all of Marin County. In addition, similar orders are in effect across the Bay Area, including in Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo, Contra Costa, and Alameda Counties, and the City of Berkeley. As of Thursday, March 19, 2020, a similar Order went into effect for the entire state of California.

The Public Health Order lists the following essential businesses:

1. Healthcare Operations and Essential Infrastructure;
2. Grocery stores, certified farmers’ markets, farm and produce stands, supermarkets, food banks, convenience stores, and other establishments engaged in the retail sale of canned food, dry goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, pet supplies, fresh meats, fish, and poultry, and any other household consumer products (such as cleaning and personal care products). This includes stores that sell groceries and also sell other non-grocery products, and products necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences;
3. Food cultivation, including farming, livestock, and fishing;
4. Businesses that provide food, shelter, and social services, and other necessities of life for economically disadvantaged or otherwise needy individuals;
5. Newspapers, television, radio, and other media services;
6. Gas stations and auto-supply, auto-repair, and related facilities;
7. Banks and related financial institutions;
8. Hardware stores;
9. Plumbers, electricians, exterminators, and other service providers who provide services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences, Essential Activities, and Essential Businesses;
10. Businesses providing mailing and shipping services, including post office boxes;
11. Educational institutions—including public and private K-12 schools, colleges, and universities—for purposes of facilitating distance learning or performing essential functions, provided that social distancing of six-feet per person is maintained to the greatest extent possible;
12. Laundromats, dry cleaners, and laundry service providers;
13. Restaurants and other facilities that prepare and serve food, but only for delivery or carry out. Schools and other entities that typically provide free food services to students or members of the public may continue to do so under this Order on the condition that the food is provided to students or members of the public on a pick-up and take-away basis only. Schools and other entities that provide food services under this exemption shall not permit the food to be eaten at the site where it is provided, or at any other gathering site;
14. Businesses that supply products needed for people to work from home;
15. Businesses that supply other essential businesses with the support or supplies necessary to operate;
16. Businesses that ship or deliver groceries, food, goods or services directly to residences;
17. Airlines, taxis, and other private transportation providers providing transportation services necessary for Essential Activities and other purposes expressly authorized in this Order;
18. Home-based care for seniors, adults, or children;
19. Residential facilities and shelters for seniors, adults, and children;
20. Professional services, such as legal or accounting services, when necessary to assist in compliance with legally mandated activities;
21. Childcare facilities providing services that enable employees exempted in this Order to work as permitted. To the extent possible, childcare facilities must operate under the following mandatory conditions:
    
    1. Childcare must be carried out in stable groups of 12 or fewer (“stable” means that the same 12 or fewer children are in the same group each day).
    2. Children shall not change from one group to another.
    3. If more than one group of children is cared for at one facility, each group shall be in a separate room. Groups shall not mix with each other.
    4. Childcare providers shall remain solely with one group of children.

This is a legally enforceable order issued under California law. It is a crime to violate this Order, and you may be punished by a fine or imprisonment for doing so.

Novel coronavirus is a new respiratory virus first identified in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December 2019. It has now spread to many other countries, including the United States. Technically, the virus is named SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes is called COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019).

See information about 2019 Novel Coronavirus on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website