Life on Day One of Shelter in Place

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Across Sonoma County, Day 1 of the county’s shelter in place orders saw both busy activity across pockets of the region, and a complete slowdown in others.

The order exempts a large number of businesses considered essential services, including gas stations, grocery stores, restaurants featuring take out and delivery, healthcare, first responders, utility workers, telecommunications, transportation and public works.

At places like the Redwood Empire Food Bank, officials were gearing up for a crush of demand as families thrown out of work by the coronavirus crisis join those already receiving food aid. The Food Bank expects the number of those seeking assistance to soar in the next few weeks and is asking for donations and volunteers.

Elsewhere, the story was different. Sonoma County Airport, an essential service provider exempt from the shelter in place order, was almost deserted as passengers put off travel or canceled their plans due to the coronavirus emergency. The restaurant on site was taking only to go orders, and worldwide, air traffic was down by more than 70 percent, and airlines were slashing their schedules.

At Sonoma County Airport, there were few passengers to be seen, and the parking lots were filled with empty spaces. The federal government is considering an economic stimulus package that may provide millions in aid to shore up the hard hit airline industry.

And on Tuesday SMART Train canceled four of its weekday trains, in a scale back of service to match demand. This follows the temporary cancellation of all weekend service which was announced on Monday. The rail line says it will continue to monitor passenger needs and will make adjustments as needed on a day to day basis during the crisis.

Elswhere across the region, traffic was close to normal at times as construction contractors drove to work sites, trucks made deliveries, essential workers made their way to their offices, agricultural and winery workers reported to their jobs, and people ventured out for gas, food, medical services and the like.

Across the Bay Area it was widely reported that the line between essential and non-essential work was largely blurred, with several firms in the tech industry, and many others considered non-essential remaining open.

It will likely take several days before local authorities and those in the Bay Area where more than 7 million people are under shelter in place orders, determine what to do about instances of non-compliance.