Exempted Business

No.  The Order exempts any business that is performing work related to the delivery of health care, including hospitals, clinics, COVID-19 testing locations, dentists, pharmacies, blood banks and blood drives, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, other healthcare facilities, healthcare suppliers, home healthcare services providers, mental health providers, and veterinary care and all healthcare services provided to animals.   

Yes, if you are a medical provider, your office is encouraged to remain open. Under the Order, all medical services, including routine and preventive care, are considered essential. This includes, but is not limited to, mental health services, immunizations, well-woman exams, dental cleanings, allergy shots, eye exams, physical therapy, and surgeries. Preventive care should not be deferred. Many visits involve exams or procedures that must be done in person, but practitioners are encouraged to conduct appointments remotely via phone or telemedicine when it is appropriate and feasible to do so.  

No.  Essential government functions will continue, including first responders, emergency management personnel, emergency dispatchers, and law enforcement.  Other government functions or offices may be subject to reduced schedules or may be closed as part of the effort to fight the spread of COVID-19.  Each government agency identifies the services that qualify as Essential Governmental Functions, and designates the personnel who will continue providing those functions. Information on the availability of County services is regularly updated on the Marin County website.

Businesses that include an Essential Business component at their facilities alongside non-essential components must scale down their in-person operations to the Essential Business component only.  For instance, if 20% of manufacturing capacity in your business is devoted to essential products, and 80% of capacity is devoted to non-essential products, you can only operate at 20% capacity.  The one exception to this rule is that retail businesses that sell a significant amount of essential products like food, personal hygiene, and consumer household products may keep their entire retail storefronts open even if some of the products they sell are non-essential. 

No.  You do not need to carry official documentation (and the County does not issue any) demonstrating that you are exempt under the new Order.  But be prepared to explain if requested by law enforcement why your travel is authorized under the Order. 

No.  If your business is covered in the list of essential businesses in the Order, then you may operate your business from a facility in the County so long as you create, post, and implement a Social Distancing Protocol for each facility using the template attached to the Order.  You do not need to obtain any specific authorization from the County to run your business.  The County does not issue written determinations or authorizations. 

No.  Only essential businesses as defined in the Order may continue operating while this order in in place.  Non-essential businesses, including but not limited to, arts and crafts supply stores, golf courses, gun shops, and other alike are not permitted to continue physical sales of their goods under this Order.  Further, stores are not allowed to modify their operations in order to keep their doors open to the public, including limiting hours, sales or the number of customers in a store at one time.  

 The following excerpt from the Order lists the “Essential Businesses:"

1. Healthcare Operations and businesses that operate, maintain, or repair 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 unprepared food, canned food, dry goods, non-alcoholic beverages, fresh fruits and vegetables, pet supply, fresh meats, fish, and poultry, as well as hygienic products and household consumer products necessary for personal hygiene or the habitability, sanitation, or operation of residences.  The businesses included in this subparagraph (ii) include establishments that sell multiple categories of products provided that they sell a significant amount of essential products identified in this subparagraph, such as liquor stores that also sell a significant amount of food.    

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. Construction, but only of the types listed in this subparagraph below:  

1. Projects immediately necessary to the maintenance, operation or repair of Essential Infrastructure;  

2. Projects associated with Healthcare Operations, including creating or expanding Healthcare Operations, provided that such construction is directly related to the COVID-19 response; 

3. Affordable housing that is or will be income-restricted, including multi-unit or mixed-use developments containing at least 10% income-restricted units; 

4. Public works projects if specifically designated as an Essential Governmental Function by the lead governmental agency; 

5. Shelters and temporary housing, but not including hotels or motels; 

6. Projects immediately necessary to provide critical non-commercial services to individuals experiencing homelessness, elderly persons, persons who are economically disadvantaged, and persons with special needs; 

7. Construction necessary to ensure that existing construction sites that must be shut down under this Order are left in a safe and secure manner, but only to the extent necessary to do so; and 

8. Construction or repair necessary to ensure that residences and buildings containing Essential Businesses are safe, sanitary, or habitable to the extent such construction or repair cannot reasonably be delayed; 

6. Newspapers, television, radio, and other media services; 

7. Gas stations and auto-supply, auto-repair (including, but not limited to, for cars, trucks, motorcycles and motorized scooters), and automotive dealerships, but only for the purpose of providing auto-supply and auto-repair services (and not, by way of example, car sales or car washes).  This subparagraph (vii) does not restrict the on-line purchase of automobiles if they are delivered to a residence or Essential Business; 

8. Bicycle repair and supply shops;  

9. Banks and related financial institutions; 

10. Service providers that enable residential transactions (including rentals, leases, and home sales), including, but not limited to, real estate agents, escrow agents, notaries, and title companies, provided that appointments and other residential viewings must only occur virtually or, if a virtual viewing is not feasible, by appointment with no more than two visitors at a time residing within the same household or living unit and one individual showing the unit (except that in person visits are not allowed when the occupant is still residing in the residence); 

11. Hardware stores; 

12. Plumbers, electricians, exterminators, and other service providers who provide services that are necessary to maintaining the habitability, sanitation, and operation of residences and Essential Businesses, but not for cosmetic or other purposes; 

13. Arborists, landscapers, gardeners, and similar service professionals, but only to the limited extent necessary to maintain the habitability, sanitation, operation of businesses or residences, or the safety of residents, employees, or the public (such as fire safety or tree trimming to prevent a dangerous condition), and not for cosmetic or other purposes (such as upkeep);  

14. Businesses providing mailing and shipping services, including post office boxes; 

15. 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; 

16. Laundromats, drycleaners, and laundry service providers; 

17. 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; 

18. Funeral home providers, mortuaries, cemeteries, and crematoriums, to the extent necessary for the transport, preparation, or processing of bodies or remains;  

19. Businesses that supply other Essential Businesses with the support or supplies necessary to operate, but only to the extent that they support or supply these Essential Businesses.  This exemption shall not be used as a basis for engaging in sales to the general public from retail storefronts; 

20. Businesses that have the primary function of shipping or delivering groceries, food, or other goods directly to residences or businesses.  This exemption shall not be used to allow for manufacturing or assembly of non-essential products or for other functions besides those necessary to the delivery operation;  

21. Airlines, taxis, rental car companies, rideshare services (including shared bicycles and scooters), and other private transportation providers providing transportation services necessary for Essential Activities and other purposes expressly authorized in this Order; 

22. Home-based care for seniors, adults, children, and pets; 

23. Residential facilities and shelters for seniors, adults, and children; 

24. Professional services, such as legal, notary, or accounting services, when necessary to assist in compliance with non-elective, legally required activities; 

25. Services to assist individuals in finding employment with Essential Businesses;  

26. Moving services that facilitate residential or commercial moves that are allowed under this Order; 

27. Childcare facilities providing services that enable owners, employees, volunteers, and contractors for Essential Businesses, Essential Governmental Functions, or Minimum Basic Operations to work as allowed under this Order.  Children of owners, employees, volunteers, and contractors who are not exempt under this Order may not attend childcare facilities.  To the extent possible, childcare facilities must operate under the following 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. 

No.  But most employees of these companies need to work from home.  The only employees of these companies who can go to work are: (i) employees who are needed to maintain the minimum basic operations described in the Order; or (ii) employees who are needed to work onsite to operate, maintain, or repair Essential Infrastructure (i.e., essential global, national, and local infrastructure for internet, computing services, business infrastructure, communications, and web-based services for the community) and who cannot perform their work duties from home.   

Any employees who are onsite must strictly follow the Order’s social distancing requirements, including maintaining a distance of six feet from one another (unless incompatible with the job duty), frequently washing hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or using an effective hand sanitizer, covering coughs and sneezes, and avoiding all social interaction outside the household when sick with a fever or cough. 

Yes. Grocery stores, certified farmers’ markets, farm and produce stands, supermarkets, food banks, convenience stores, and similar food retail establishments are encouraged to remain open to provide food and pet supplies to the public. When visiting these establishments, please help retailers maintain six feet minimum distance between patrons, including by providing ample space while shopping and waiting in line.