PRESS RELEASE – Stay at home, and when out, use social/physical distancing

March 30, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Sarah Henry, Public Information Officer
510-747-4714

Stay at home, and when out, use social/physical distancing

Residents and businesses in Alameda County have been ordered to shelter in place or stay at home, with exceptions for certain essential activities, business and government services, and public infrastructure construction. When performing these exceptions, using social/physical distancing of at least 6 feet will help slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect the most vulnerable members of our community.

The Alameda Police Department (APD), along with other police departments in the Bay Area, are focused on education about the stay at home order, rather than enforcement, however, APD may issue citations if warranted.

The City is aware that groups of people have been gathering at specific locations. While it is ok for families living in the same household to be together, it is not ok to mingle with people outside of your immediate household. Alameda Police Department patrol officers have been increasing spot checks of these high-traffic areas and are asking people to abide by the public health order. Individuals who repeatedly violate the public health order may be subject to fines or arrest.

Essential businesses are listed on page 5 of the shelter in place order: http://acphd.org/media/559658/health-officer-order-shelter-in-place-20200316.pdf. Please report non-essential businesses who are not complying with the public health order to the City at 510-747-6818 and email the County at Covid19compliance@acgov.org.

We will continue to monitor the compliance of the stay at home order as we navigate through these unprecedented times. We encourage all of our community members to call the police when you see others committing crimes, but only use 911 for emergencies. Our patrol officers are still responding to our typical calls for service and the APD Communications Center must prioritize all calls.

Please remember, we all have a role to play in slowing the spread of COVID-19. While people over 65 and community members with compromised immune systems are the most at risk, more than half of the positive COVID-19 cases in California are people aged 18-45. This disease affects us all, and we must take responsibility for ourselves and each other, and follow common-sense health guidelines.

####