The O.C. Health Officer issues an Order to slow the spread of COVID-19

County Health Officer Dr. Nichole Quick issued a Health Officer’s Order today to protect the health and wellbeing of Orange County, CA residents.

“We are taking these mitigation steps in line with a directive issued by Governor Newsom to help slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Nichole Quick, County Health Officer. “We recognize community members may experience anxiety related to the social disruption caused by COVID-19, and want to encourage residents to reach out to loved ones using appropriate methods like telephone, video messaging, email and text.”

As this is a rapidly evolving situation, this Order may be revised and/or extended at any time.

This Order prohibits social gatherings, calls for all bars to close, and restaurants to close onsite dining but make food available through delivery and pick-up options.

This order is consistent with what other counties like Los Angeles, San Diego, and Alameda are doing.

For general information about COVID-19, please call the OC Health Care Agency’s (H.CA) Health Referral Line at (800) 564-8448, visit http://www.ochealthinfo.com/novelcoronavirus, or follow the HCA on Facebook (@ochealthinfo) and Twitter (@ochealth).

Here is an excerpt from the Orange County Order, read the full Order here:

ORDER OF THE LOCAL HEALTH OFFICER

Pursuant to California Health and Safety Code sections 101040, 120175, and 120175.5 (b), the Orange County Health Officer ORDERS AS FOLLOWS:
Effective immediately and continuing until 11 :59 p.m. on March 31, 2020, the following will be in effect in Orange County:

1. All public and private gatherings of any number of people, including at places of work, occurring outside a single household or living unit are prohibited. However, nothing in this Order prohibits the gathering of members of a household or living unit.
   a. This prohibition applies to all professional, social, and community gatherings, regardless of their sponsor, that are not engaged in Essential Activities, as defined below. Gatherings that involve Essential Activities should only be conducted when they cannot not be postponed or achieved without gathering, meaning that some other means of communication cannot be used to perform
   the Essential Activity. For gatherings involving Essential Activities,
   maintaining a six-foot separation of Social Distancing between persons, except family members, is recommended to the greatest extent possible.
   b. “Essential Activities” include:
2. All services needed to ensure the continuing operation of the
   government agencies and provide for the health, safety and welfare of the public.
3. Healthcare operations ( e.g. hospitals) and essential infrastructure;
   m. First responders, emergency management personnel, emergency
   dispatchers, court personnel, and law enforcement personnel.
   1v. Grocery stores, certified farmers’ markets, farm and produce stands, supermarkets, food banks, convenience stores, and other
   establishments engaged in the retail sale of canned food, dry goods,
   fresh fruits and vegetables, pet supply, fresh meats, fish, and poultry,
   and any other household consumer products (such as cleaning and
   personal care products). This includes stores that sell groceries and
   also sell other non-grocery products, and products necessary to
   maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of
   residences;
   v. Food cultivation, including farming, livestock, and fishing;

Click here to read the rest of this Order.