- The San Francisco Bay Area's estimated 6.7 million residents have been ordered to remain at home as much as possible until April 7 to contain the coronavirus disease.
- Known as a shelter-in-place order, the directive has shuttered businesses, offices, and has caused the city's daily rhythm to come to a screeching halt.
- I live in San Francisco and have spent four days under the order.
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I had a routine prior to March 9.
I woke up at 6 a.m. for a brisk walk to work through the still-sleeping city into the office near the Financial District of San Francisco. I had my route nailed down perfectly, up one street and down another to spot the cats in the bay windows of their owners' apartments. One had flattened ears, the other would meow at me. I was always glum when I walked by and they weren't there.
That came to halt, as it needed to, in early March, as the coronavirus disease began to pose a bigger threat to San Francisco. On March 5, the first two confirmed cases were found, with authorities warning that the disease was likely already being transmitted in the city. Now there are 76.
The coronavirus pandemic has perforated the lives of millions, either directly or indirectly, as it has spread across the globe. The number of confirmed cases sits at 240,000. Some know people who have it, or have a friend of a friend who does. Regardless, we all feel the effects of the measures being taken to quell the spread of the virus.
On February 25, Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency in San Francisco, my home of two years. Since then, offices have steadily shuttered one by one. The big names of the tech city - Twitter, Google, LinkedIn - began implementing work-from-home orders. Employees increasingly began adapting to carving out workspaces in their homes. Then the city took it a step further.
The estimated 6.7 million residents in the San Francisco Bay Area were ordered to shelter in place, or to stay at home, in an effort to create space amongst the region's occupants and decrease the risk of spreading the virus, which is transmissible by respiratory droplets.
The order lasts until April 7 but could get extended, San Francisco Mayor London Breed told my colleague, Troy Wolverton, on Thursday.
It's Friday, and we are on Day 4. Here's what it's been like.