San Francisco health officials on Thursday morning announced an indefinite extension of the current home order and the 10-day travel guarantee.
San Francisco County was one of five counties in the Bay Area that adopted the state’s new local home order early, preferring to go under the order in early December, two weeks before the capacity of the intensive care unit in the region under 15 % fell, causing the state to close the rest of the region.
The state order for the Bay Area region is expected to expire on January 8 if the ICU capacity is more than 15% and is not expected to fall below the figure for four weeks. On Wednesday, the state estimated that the region has 7.5% capacity.
San Francisco officials believe that gatherings from Christmas and New Year will fuel a new boom in January, so the restrictions will remain in effect in the city even if the state order is lifted.
Under the stay-at-home order, outdoor meals, indoor personal care services and other activities are prohibited.
The city’s travel policy – which requires a mandatory ten-day quarantine for anyone traveling, relocating or returning to the city from anywhere outside the Bay – would originally expire on January 4th.
Dr. Grant Colfax, director of public health in San Francisco, did not give details on how the city will enforce the order, but said anyone who does not comply could be hit with an offense.
SFGATE editor Amy Graff contributed to this report.