San Francisco announces mandatory quarantine for anyone coming from outside city

SAN FRANCISCO (KION and KPIX) The San Francisco Director of Health announced Thursday that because of a rise in COVID-19 cases, there will be a mandatory 10-day quarantine for anyone traveling from outside the city.

“We unfortunately have yet to see a downturn. We are averaging an extremely high case rate [with] 242 cases per day. That is the highest average we’ve had since the outset of the pandemic,” said Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax.

He said cases have increased by 50% since Thanksgiving, but the rate of increase has slowed slightly. He is hopeful that that this means they have time to turn the situation around.

San Francisco was one of the counties to issue a stay at home order early on Dec. 4, but the city has still seen an increase in cases. The Bay Area region became subject to a mandatory stay at home order Wednesday when ICU capacity dropped below 15%.

The new mandatory quarantine will apply to anyone traveling, moving or returning to San Francisco from anywhere outside the Bay Area. There are some exceptions for people traveling for critical activities.

“COVID-19 cases are surging in San Francisco and across the country. Hospitals in the Bay Area are close to being overwhelmed,” said Mayor Breed in a news release. “We must do whatever we can to contain the virus and stop its circulation in our community. Now is not the time to travel and risk being exposed or exposing others. We need to do the right thing to protect ourselves, our neighbors and our loved ones and make sure that we can celebrate together when this is over.”

The order goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday and is expected to end at 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 4.