Coronavirus updates: Solano County issues 'shelter-at-home' order

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Scroll through the gallery above for photos of the Bay Area under a shelter-in-place order.

LATEST, March 18, 4:50 p.m., After Solano County health officer Dr. Bela Matyas initially stated he believed shelter-in-place orders caused unnecessary panic, the county issued a similar "shelter-at-home" order Wednesday night.

The announcement means residents of every county in the Bay Area are now taking significant precautions to curb the spread of coronavirus.

March 18, 4:30 p.m., BART will halt its extra yellow Antioch-bound line routes "until further notice" due to extremely low ridership beginning Thursday, the agency reported. In a post on BART's website, Tuesday's ridership dipped 87% below what would constitute an average Tuesday in February.

The extra train cancellation is not unprecedented, as the post continued, but is generally a system change BART makes during the December holiday period. Normal train schedules during commute hours will remain unaffected and passengers will still be able to socially distance.

"Social distancing will remain possible on the yellow line all day," BART clarified. "BART staff pulled data from Wednesday morning showing cars that make up the extra commute trains carried an average of 7 riders per car. Moving these riders to the base trains that run every 15 minutes will not cause crowding and riders will be able to maintain social distancing."

March 18, 4:10 p.m., Alameda County's Santa Rita jail has released 67 non-violent inmates on their own recognizance from court, in an effort to reduce the jail's population, the East Bay Times reports.

Visitations at the jail have also been significantly reduced, as officials aim to prevent a spread at the jail. Video calls, however, have been allowed.

March 18, 3:08 p.m., Napa County has issued a "shelter-at-home" order effective 12 a.m. March 20 to continue through April 7, the county reported Wednesday afternoon.

As in other counties, the order requires that residents must stay inside, with the exception of when it comes to performing essential activities like shopping for groceries and medical prescriptions and supplies, exercising outside or going to work (if it cannot be done at home). In any case where an individual leaves the home, they should practice social distancing. The county also states that if a resident is feeling sick, he or she should self-isolate.

Napa County joins seven other Bay Area counties which have issued similar shelter-in-place orders. The last remaining holdout is Solano County; that county's health officer, Dr. Bela Matyas, maintains that such orders have caused overreactions.

"If you actually look at the language of those orders, there is nothing different between them and what the governor and the president have been talking about for quite a while," Dr. Matyas said. "I think there’s been a lot of significant misrepresentation of the content of those orders. And it’s unfortunate because they’ve been accompanied by a lot more panic and concern."

March 18, 2:07 p.m. Concern over spreading novel coronavirus has led to a dramatic decline in people riding the Bay Area transportation system that crosses the San Francisco Bay, so much so that it's on track to lose $37 million per month in fare and parking revenue, according to a statement.

On Monday, ridership was down 70% compared to a typical weekday. On Tuesday, it was down 85%. Read the full story.

March 18, 10:45 a.m. Santa Clara County public health officials announced Wednesday an adult male in his 60s passed away from coronavirus-complications yesterday. The patient had been hospitalized since March 5. This is the sixth death in the county. Health officials also said there are 20 new cases. The county total is now 175.

San Mateo reported 16 new cases Tuesday morning, bringing the county total to 80.

San Francisco's case count increased to 51.

We are very sorry to announce one death from #COVID19, bringing the total to 6. He was an adult man in his 60s. We are saddened to share this news and we express our condolences to his family and friends. Read more: https://t.co/j05eZtgyFq pic.twitter.com/BwpTsPqtNW — Santa Clara OEM (@SCC_OES) March 18, 2020

March 18, 9:30 a.m. California State Parks announced Tuesday night all campgrounds are temporarily closing.

"As of today, non-campground outdoor areas of parks, including trails and beaches, remain open," officials said in a statement. "Visitors are reminded to practice social distancing and maintain at least six feet between other visitors and anyone who is coughing or sneezing. Restrooms also remain open, and visitors are advised to take soap for hand washing and alcohol-based hand sanitizers when water is not available."

March 18, 8:45 a.m. San Francisco Mayor London Breed signed a declaration Tuesday to speed up the process of hiring more healthcare workers.

The Department of Public Health announced 100 nursing vacancies. To fill those spots, the department is holding an invitation-only hiring fair this weekend at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Suitable candidates will be hired on the spot and will not be required to go through the typical six-month-long process. More hiring fairs will be held until all vacancies are filled.

“Today’s action will allow us to bring on more nurses quickly to be prepared to meet the demands of the response and to augment and support the workforce that is already there in place working hard every day, often overtime, extra days in order to staff our hospitals and clinics,” Dr. Susan Philip, San Francisco Department of Public Health deputy health doctor, said at a press conference.

"Our health care workers are on the front lines of this public health emergency. We need to make sure we have enough nurses available to care for our residents," Breed tweeted. "I'm temporarily waiving provisions to allow us to hire health care workers on the spot in response to this pandemic."

Also on Tuesday, Breed issued a moratorium on evictions for the city's small and medium-sized businesses. According to a press release on the mayor's website, this ban applies to businesses with less than $25 million in annual gross profits.

"We are taking action to make sure that our small businesses are not displaced as a result of the economic impact caused by coronavirus," she stated. "We will continue to push for more immediate state and federal support in addition to the programs we’ve introduced locally, because this pandemic is having major widespread economic impacts on almost every business and resident in our city.”

COVID-19 cases climbed around the Bay Area on Tuesday. Alameda County reported nine new infected patients, bringing the county's total to 27. In San Mateo County, the number of patients testing positive increased from 41 to 64. San Francisco's count bumped up to 43 with three new infected individuals reported Tuesday. Marin County's case count rose to 15.

Santa Clara County announced 17 new cases; the total now stands at 155. The county also reported its fifth death.

Where cases have been confirmed in the Bay Area:





ALAMEDA COUNTY: 31 confirmed cases

Fore more information on Alameda County cases, visit the public health department website.

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY: 41 confirmed cases

Fore more information on Contra Costa County cases, visit the public health department website.

MARIN COUNTY: 15 confirmed cases

Fore more information on Marin County cases, visit the public health department website.

NAPA COUNTY: 0 residents, 2 patients treated in Napa, then transferred out of county

For more information on Napa County cases, visit the public health department website.

SAN FRANCISCO COUNTY: 51 confirmed cases

For more information on San Francisco County cases, visit the public health department website.

SAN MATEO COUNTY: 80 confirmed cases, 1 death

For more information on San Mateo County cases, visit the public health department website.

SANTA CLARA COUNTY: 175 confirmed cases, 6 deaths

Fore more information on Santa Clara County cases, visit the public health department website.

SOLANO COUNTY: 8 confirmed cases

For more information on Solano County cases, visit the public health department website.

SONOMA COUNTY: 6 confirmed cases

For more information on Sonoma County cases, visit the public health department website.

In California, 14 coronavirus-related deaths have been reported

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Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.