Out of town travelers planning to get back home to Santa Clara County may now be required to undergo a two-week quarantine under the new mandatory travel directive.
Airports are expected to post signs and educate their passengers about the new policy that will go into effect at midnight. Passengers would also be given a written copy of the new directive upon landing at the county.
The new quarantine order would be required of people who travel more than 150 miles from Santa Clara County. However, people who traveled for essential government functions are exempted from the policy.
It is unclear whether the county would track whether the passengers do follow the quarantine policy.
“We’re requiring transit facilities such as airports and train stations to provide quarantine information. So they know upon arrival and we publicize that new requirement,” Santa Clara County counsel James Williams said.
The county is expected to run out of hospital beds by the third week of December, prompting officials to crack down on businesses. During the Thanksgiving holiday, authorities issued at least 75 fines for coronavirus violations, NBC News reported.
Update: December 5, 2020
As the “final surge” of the coronavirus hits the Bay Area, Gov. Gavin Newsom is asking the citizens of California to comply with newly impose strict limits on community outings, travel and in-person shopping.
The rules which take effect Saturday are designed and expected to last for 21 days once care facilities approach full capacity. About 23% of the state’s ICU remained open but, if no action is taken, state projections predicted for all bed to be filled by Mid-December.
With the rise of cases and rapid admittance of patients, Gov. Newsom is expected to limit activities throughout the whole holiday season and even into the new year.
“The bottom line is, if we don’t act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed,” Newsom stated in a midday news conference. “If we don’t act now, we’ll continue to see our death rate climb, more lives lost.”
The shutdown is expected to affect the Southern California region, including Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Imperial, Inyo and Mono counties.
These areas are required to halt business with close personal activities such as hair and nail salons, playgrounds, zoos, museums, aquariums, and wineries. Overnight stay at campgrounds is prohibited and restaurants are required to offer take-out only. All retail businesses can only cater to a 20% customer capacity inside the store.
“This is not a permanent state,” Newsom said.
The new limits imposed during the holiday season would no doubt take a hit on the state’s shambled economy. Just recently, Newsom has announced various of loans and grants for small businesses, as well as a program that allows delay payment of tax sales.
