People rush out to shop and eat before new shutdown begins
Debora Villalon reports.
ALAMEDA, Calif. - It's the last weekend for many activities, as a regional COVID-19 shutdown looms.
Five Bay Area counties, plus the city of Berkeley, are pre-emptively curtailing many enterprises due to rising hospitalizations and shrinking ICU capacity.
Saturday, people hurried to beat the changes.
"The lockdown is coming, let's go out and do as much shopping as we can," said Victor Rosales of Oakland. "Christmas is near, we can't leave the kids without gifts this year."
Rosales and his girlfriend spent the day shopping for gifts in Alameda.
"We came here to TJ Maxx last weekend and there was no line to get in," said Ysabel Perez of Hayward. "But right now there's a line to get in and once you get inside, the lines are long as well."
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With Christmas just 20 days away, stores are understandably busy, but the COVID-19 order cuts capacity for retailers.
So customers who want to avoid waiting at front doors are dashing to get shopping done now.
"It's definitely going to be different to be in a heavy duty lockdown," said Kaitlyn Forbush of Alameda, having dinner with 3 friends.
The 19-year-old is aware that under the order, she is supposed to see only the people she lives with, even if the group is small or outdoors.
"I think it's going to be an adjustment, not being able to socialize and be as friendly," said Forbush.
Their meal felt like a farewell as outdoor dining ends, leaving only delivery or takeout going forward.
"We were already planning to come out tonight, but I'm happy we did, knowing that we won't be able to for a hot minute," smiled Forbush.
It will be early January before the order might ease.
The six jurisdictions, looking at the COVID-19 surge, decided to crackdown early before the state orders them to.
The order they announced jointly, affects an estimated 6 million Bay Area residents.
"Within weeks we will be unable to care for our residents at our hospitals," warned Tomas Arragon, San Francisco's Health Officer.
"We must act swiftly to save as many lives as we can because this is an emergency," added Chris Farnitano, Contra Costa County Health Officer.
Households with children must adjust too, with parks and playgrounds, museums, movies and amusements off-limits.
"We'll have to improvise and it's tough," said Nenad Bozinovic of San Francisco, browsing Alameda boutiques with his wife and 1 year-old twins.
Parks and playgrounds, museums, movies, all amusements are off-limits.
"After the last lockdown when we put the kids in the swing for the first time, you could see the smiles on their faces and now they cannot do that anymore," said Bozinovic.
The couple have bio-tech careers are grateful to be able to go to work each day.
"I feel really bad for a lot of people who cannot do that," said Bozinovic, "and we will do our fair share of take out this month, as much as we can, and tip 25 percent if we can."
Most shoppers seem to accept the rollbacks as a result of people not following guidance they've been given for months.
"The more frivolous you become, the tighter the restrictions become, so you have to really choose," said Frank Ditto of Alameda.
The timetable has Santa Clara, San Francisco, and Contra Costa beginning stay-at-home orders at 10 p.m. Sunday.
Two hours later, at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Alameda County's order kicks in.
Marin will wait the longest, starting at noon on Tuesday.
Four other counties: Sonoma, Solano, Napa and San Mateo decided against joining the order at this time.
Debora Villalon is a reporter for KTVU. Email Debora at debora.villalon@foxtv.com and follow her on Twitter @DeboraKTVU.
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People rush out to shop and eat before new COVID-19 shutdown begins - KTVU San Francisco
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