The Bay Area’s Shelter in Place Might Last Another Month

SF Mayor London Breed says that it’s “very likely” the region’s stay at home rules will continue for a couple more weeks.

It was March 16 when, in a joint announcement, public health officials in San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties (as well as the city of Berkeley, which has its own health department) announced that the region would shelter in place until April 7 in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19). April 7 came and went, but everyone stayed in, as a couple weeks later, the order was extended to May 3. Now officials are saying that we should expect to see another extension of the shutdown, one lasting as long as an additional month.

In a press conference Friday afternoon, San Francisco Mayor London Breed spoke plainly, saying that it’s “very likely” that officials will require “another few weeks or even a month of asking you all to comply and to remain at home and to continue to follow the social distancing orders that we put forth,” KRON 4 reports. Contrary to the assertions of some national magazines, those shelter-in-place decisions aren’t made by Breed, but by a joint decision of county public health heads — and it sounds like the details of the extension will soon be announced.

So far, there hasn’t been any indications from officials that the regulations placed on restaurants (which are takeout and delivery only) and bars (most of which are completely closed) would be relaxed in coming weeks, news that’s tough for restauranteurs like Zachary Davis, the owner Santa Cruz spots like Penny Ice Creamery, Picnic Basket, and Assembly. Typically, this is when he’d be staffing up for the busy summer months, he tells the East Bay Times, but instead he’s running on a skeleton crew across his businesses. “I would certainly love to have a busy summer — that’s the best time of year for us,” Davis says, “But I’m not going to advocate for short-term gains for my business if it causes long-term harm to my community.”

And in other news...

• Blaming SF’s cap on fees delivery apps can charge restaurants, Uber Eats says it can’t deliver to Treasure Island anymore. It had only been delivering to the area since April 3. [The Verge]
• Above Ground, a vegan brewpub from the people behind ground-breaking vegan restaurant Millennium, has opened for takeout in the Mission. [SF Chronicle]
• Khadija Zanotto, a VP at San Jose grocery chain Zanotto’s, says it’s been hard asking customers not to overbuy and hoard, “but it is in the best interest of all of us.” [East Bay Times]
• Restaurant workers say that even before the pandemic, they weren’t able to consistently access San Francisco’s $203 million fund intended to repay their health care costs. Now that the coronavirus crisis is in full swing, local legislators say they’re struggling to figure out how to get that money to the people who need it. [SF Chronicle]
• Emperor Norton’s Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria, a San Jose spot that’s served patrons for the last 45 years, closed for good on Sunday. [NBC Bay Area]
• 35-year-old Berkeley Mediterranean spot Lalime’s permanently closed on Friday. Owners Cindy and Haig Krikorian said via Facebook that “Covid 19 has made the decision for us, Lalime’s is retiring.” [SF Chronicle]
• Curry Up Now’s empire began as a single San Francisco food truck, but its plan to expand into a national franchise “has been thrown into uncertainty” by the coronavirus crisis. [SF Business Times]
• Oakland’s Itani Ramen is now the home of Nikkei Sushi, a new restaurant from Kyle Itani, the co-owner of Japanese-American diner Hopscotch. [San Jose Mercury News]