PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID MARTINEZ, CA PERMIT NO. 235 94553-9998
Volume 162 Issue 46
STAY HOME Everything you need to know about the shelter-in-place order
Stay Home Except For Essential Needs — Contra Costa with Health Officers from the Bay Area have announced a Public Health Order that requires residents to stay home except for essential needs. This starts on March 17. What to do Contra Costa Health Services issued a Public Health Order requiring people to stay home except for essential needs. This order is in effect until April 7. Vulnerable populations must stay home. Everyone should stay home except to get food, care for a relative or friend, get necessary health care, or go to an essential job. It is OK to go outside for walks if you are not in a group. It may be extended depending on recommendations from public health officials. Why are we doing this? This is a critical intervention to reduce harm from the spread of the coronavirus in our community. This is a mandatory order. All Bay Area Health Officers observed quickly mounting cases and serious illnesses across the region. Now is the time to do everything we can to prevent the situation from getting much worse in a matter of days or weeks. Every hour counts. We need and appreciate the cooperation of everyone who lives and works in San Francisco to act immediately. While this news may feel alarming, it is a necessary step to prevent a worsening situation. The patterns of the virus around the world, and in our own state, tell us that moving right now to maximize social distancing and restrict people gathering is the best way to fight the virus and save lives. If everyone works together, we should be able to adjust to the new rules over the next few weeks. We know that there will be a lot of questions and concerns at the beginning of this new regimen. This is a major change being taken to protect public health. Please be patient and kind to one another. Together, we will get through this, and our community’s health will be protected. How long will we stay home? This goes into effect on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. It is currently set to last for 3 weeks through Tuesday, April 7, 2020. We want to be sure the Order is in place for only as long as necessary, and the Health Officer will be closely monitoring the situation every day in order to determine what adjustments make sense. What can I do? What's open? These essential services will remain open: government • City/County services: Police stations, fire stations, hospitals/clinics and healthcare operations, jails, courts, garbage/sanitation, transportation (including Muni), utilities (water, power and gas), and city offices • Gas stations • Pharmacies • Food: Grocery stores, farmers markets, food banks, convenience stores, take-out and delivery restaurants • Hardware stores/plumbers
See STAY HOME on page A3
Established in 1858
Friday, March 20, 2020
$2.00 TAX included
COVID-19 pandemic impacts Bay Area
INSIDE THIS EDITION
DONNA BETH WEILENMAN | GAZETTE REPORTER
E
ver-changing responses to the threat of the spreading COVID-19 virus canceled this week’s regular Martinez City Council meeting, kept school children home and ordered Martinez residents to join neighbors in six Bay Area counties in a massive shelter in place. The Martinez City Council was expected to meet via teleconference on Wednesday to adopt a resolution proclaiming a city-wide state of emergency due to the public health risk of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). As President Donald Trump Monday was urging Americans to gather in groups of no more than 10, the Council met that day in closed session to consider further efforts to deal with the international pandemic. The March 17 Parks, Recreation, Marina and Cultural Commission meeting also was canceled after Contra Costa County Health officials ordered a county-wide shelter in place through April 7. As directed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the Council is meeting by conference calls and has restricted public attendance to municipal meetings to no more than 40 people. Residents may send comments or ask questions in advance by email. That procedure is subject to change, officials conceded Monday. Updates are being posted on the city’s website, https://www. cityofmartinez.org/. In a news conference Monday, Trump announced recommenda-
LOCAL NEWS
Martinez Unified School District Superintendent C.J. Cammack has been updating parents and staff about COVID-19 since mid-February, and in his most recent statement...
See MUSD CLOSES on page A3
CALMATTERS
With Bay Area residents ordered to start sheltering at home Tuesday to help stop the spread of coronavirus, labor groups, businesses and workers are scrambling to under...
See BAY AREA on page A4
Gazette photo Postal clerk Carmen Santiago, part of the essential jobs, still working through the stay at home order.
tions that during the next two weeks, people should not gather in groups of 10 or more, should avoid discretionary travel, should home-school their children when possible and to avoid bars, restaurants and food
courts. The advice is designed to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. “We’re appealing to all Americans
See BAY AREA on page A5
Martinez business owners will suffer during pandemic
SPORTS - PICTORIAL
Check our pictorial of how AHS Volleyball team drops match to Miramonte Volleyball team 3-1. All photos by Mark Fierner...
See AHS VOLLEYBALL on page A6
DANA GUZZETTI | GAZETTE REPORTER
“If there’s a time need to hug each other, it’s this, and we can’t,” said Lesley Stiles, chef/owner of Roxx on Main, 627 Main St, said. She expressed the anxiety and frustration of business owners and their employees, all over the city. “It’s the uncertainty…I’ve got no knowledge of it. I don’t know if it is hysteria or if it is real. I can’t say. They might be saving our lives.” Stiles made that comment on St. Patrick’s Day, when bars and restaurants traditionally are over-flowing with Irish-loving celebrants. “This is a big day. “We cured our own beef from scratch,” she said. Then there was a brief silence on the phone. Stiles was upset about letting staff know they could not work. “That was hard,” she said. At the same time, customers and friends have been calling to see if they can help. “I am having a hard time getting my bread baked, answering the telephone. People are already ordering their food,” she remarked. For those who have not been out of the house to see it, Main Street looks like a ghost town. Inundated by news of the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, all but es-
EDITORIAL & OPINION
I pulled into Livermore Costco to fill up with gas. There was no line for the pumps but two hundred people were lined up with shopping carts to go into the store!...
See AT HOME on page B7
Gazette photo Popular States Coffee was carry-out only.
sential services have been ordered closed to keep us safe from the virus. We may be physically safe, but that measure may have put our economic safety in peril. Businesses, large and small are taking a hit while customers must stay home. Closing the County offices and courts impacted Main Street businesses first. Most businesses were closed by Monday because there were so few customers. Owners of those that were open were taking the precau-
tions recommended by public agencies and the media, but to no avail. They sat alone in their shops waiting for customers that did not come. When told of the impending public confinement scheduled for midnight that night, they declined to have their names mentioned in the paper. One shopkeeper said, “A few people came on Sunday. They didn't know the Farmers’ Market was can-
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s assessment that it’s likely “few if any” California schools will reopen before summer break surprised parents, who wondered Wednesday how distance...
See BUSINESSES on page A5
See WORST SCENARIOS on page B10
“Yazmin made our new home dream a reality. When two other lenders declined us, she got us into the beautiful home!!! Yazmin is the most persistent and dedicated professional. Thank you Yazmin!!” “As a first time home buyer, I needed quite a bit of support throughout the entire mortgage process, Yazmin was available by phone/text/email whenever I had questions. With her expertise, I truly feel she was helping me make the best decisions each step of the way. Her knowledge of the Bay Area market was an absolute asset. You’d be lucky to work with someone as hard working, experienced, and kind as Yazmin!”
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POLITICS
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