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San Francisco will enforce a travel quarantine effective Friday as California struggles to combat rising COVID-19 deaths and hospitalization rates.
Driving the news: Anyone “traveling, moving or returning to San Francisco from anywhere outside the Bay Area” will have to remain isolated for 10 days, Mayor London Breed announced on Thursday. The order will remain in place through at least Jan. 4.
The big picture: The Bay Area has seen a steep drop in its ICU capacity over the last few weeks, triggering a state-issued stay-at-home order.
- San Francisco’s new rules require travelers to quarantine and avoid contact with anyone outside their household unless there is an emergency or health-related situation.
- Medical professionals, first responders and other essential workers are exempt.
- The order also discourages non-essential travel within the Bay Area region, which consists of 10 counties.
- “This virus spreads through human interaction and social gatherings, including through people with no symptoms. We need to take steps now to control the spread of the virus and save lives,” Grant Colfax, director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, said in a statement.
Context: San Francisco reported a record 335 coronavirus cases on Wednesday, per the San Francisco Chronicle.
- Earlier this week, California ordered 5,000 body bags in anticipation of increasing death counts.