SAN FRANCISCO _ Emergency orders further upended normal life across the greater San Francisco Bay Area on Tuesday, as businesses, schools and other institutions closed and the number of coronavirus cases continued to creep up.
Seven Bay Area counties on Monday ordered residents to "shelter in place" until at least April 7, going out only for essential needs, such as visiting grocery stores, pharmacies, doctors and relatives. Officials say the order seeks to prevent COVID-19 from overwhelming the health care system of a region where 7 million people live.
San Francisco opened at least 37 recreation sites as emergency child care centers, as did other cities wanting to serve families needing to work while their children are out of school. The Bay Area Rapid Transit system continued to operate, while ferry operators reduced services. Shelters remained open for the homeless, who, having no roofs over their heads, are exempt from the order to stay home.
While it was initially unclear how aggressively authorities would enforce the orders, the San Francisco Police Department tweeted overnight that it would visit bars and nightclubs to ensure they were shut down.
But in some parts of the region, stores remained open, even those that health authorities intended to be closed.
John Christensen, of Abbey Flooring, told a reporter Monday that he was going to remain open. A sign on the door declaring "open" and a call to the shop indicated he kept true to his word, albeit with reduced hours.
Bow Wow Meow, a high-end pet product and grooming shop, also had its doors open. Amy Bearg, an executive assistant at the shop's anchor store in San Francisco, said the store was "essential."
"We provide pet products and services that people need," she said, describing services such as anal gland extraction and hot spot shaving. "For some animals, these services are essential," she said.
No region statewide has been hit harder by the coronavirus than the San Francisco Bay Area. As of Tuesday afternoon, authorities had reported 320 cases and five deaths in the counties where shelter-in-places orders were issued Monday _ Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara, as well as the neighboring county of Santa Cruz.
Overnight, the number of cases in San Mateo County rose to 64 from 42 and in San Francisco, rose to 43 from 40. Four of the deaths were in Santa Clara County, all people who were in their 50s or older. One death was in San Mateo County.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, city health authorities ordered cannabis dispensaries closed Tuesday morning. One of them, the Apothecarium, announced on its website that its three San Francisco dispensaries were closed until April 7, "or until further notice."
In Palo Alto, University Avenue was, like elsewhere, a ghost town. All nonessential shops were closed, and restaurants were empty. On a bright, sunny day, the only visible lunch eaters were two sitting outside a Pizza My Heart. The otherwise busy lunch scene of the town was absent.
On Tuesday, there were signs that Monday's orders were pushed out with little notification to affected elected officials and other community leaders.
Adrian Fine, Palo Alto's mayor, said he wasn't informed about the shelter in place order until just hours before the announcement was made.
"This is a fast, moving target," he said. "I think the county health officers are doing an admirable, good job."
He said he had no intention of using the police force to enforce the shelter in place order, hoping that residents would follow it without issues.
"They're not going to be knocking on doors to check," he said.
Dr. Rohan Radhakrishna, Contra Costa County deputy health officer, said an association of Bay Area health officers held telephone conferences throughout the weekend to draft the order.
He said each county communicated with its city leaders. In Contra Costa County, some of the mayors were concerned about the order's impact on the economy, but eventually agreed it was appropriate.
"We felt strongly that viruses cross borders, people cross borders and public health mitigation measures must also cross borders to be effective," Radhakrishna said.
Without mentioning names, he predicted that other counties would follow suit as more cases develop.
Solano and Napa are two that have declined to issue orders, although there were reports that Sonoma County health authorities were considering something similar.
"It is hard to convince your political leaders to really shut things down if you don't have any cases yet," Radhakrishna said. "We wanted to start with counties that were ready to come on board with this level of shelter in place. Early action is essential to flatten the curve."
He said the counties decided that BART trains should continue to run because they carry many essential workers.
