All of California Issued "Stay at Home" Directive
 

Effective midnight, tonight.

https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-exc...sential-needs/

The southbound Coast Starlight #11 is running about 1 to 1.5 hours behind schedule this morning but still running. It will be in Emeryville about 9:30AM. If you have to get to Los Angeles by 11PM, the train may be your only option.

Well, obviously, you can still drive to L.A... There are still seats on Southwest Airlines from Oakland, and Flixbus seems to be operating.

Driving is 100% allowed - there are thousands of businesses still open because they have been tagged 'essential' and people are allowed to drive to any of them. I'd much rather be in a car than on a train . . .

(allowed business include everything from the obvious groceries and pharmacies to hardware stores, electronics stores, garden centers, restaurants for take out, banks, accountants/financial businesses/credit unions, and scores more)

One weird thing -- walking in parks and open spaces is fine, and actually encouraged as long as you stay away from other people and objects like drinking fountains and sporting equipment . . . but our local park district has closed the parking lots so no way to do that

Early media reports calling this a "lockdown" have mislead people into thinking we're practically imprisoned.

janisj, I don't know how close the parks in your area are to residential neighborhoods, but here we can drive, walk or cycle anywhere we want to go. If a parking lot is closed (which we haven't encountered yet), we can park nearby and walk in. In many ways, this crazy time has been very good for those of us who love to be outside. Little traffic, lots of parking, empty trails...

Advising people to ride Amtrak during this time when a highly contagious virus is spreading is totally stupid and irresponsible, think of a giant enclosed petri dish being shared with dozens of strangers. Might work if you can afford to hire an entire private railroad car for yourself (think Robber Baron era).

Safest is to drive, or else stay home but make sure you stock up on essentials.

Wrong thread and time for your Amtrak spamming, Tom. Get a clue.

You're only allowed to drive somewhere that provides an essential service. I am horrified that my hairdresser isn't considered essential, but I suppose these rules were set by men, However, I digress. You are not allowed to drive to a friend's house or to your vacation home in another location.

https://www.latimes.com/california/s...o-stay-at-home

Enough people decided not to stay home that the northbound Coast Starlight left Los Angeles this morning. I hope the Governor doesn't try to stop it when it reaches Sacramento about midnight. Amtrak has assured us that they are doing at least twice as much cleaning on their trains and stations as they were before. The train is a vital link between Los Angeles and Seattle and many points in between for those who do not drive.

Amtrak may be doing great cleaning, but that doesn't mean unhealthy people won't be on board.

Amtrak may be an option for those that do not drive, but advising people that Amtrak may be the only way to get home is totally stupid and irresponsible

Wrong thread and time for your Amtrak spamming, Tom. Get a clue.

""You're only allowed to drive somewhere that provides an essential service"

Where is this rule specified for all of California.? The link you provided was about LA only, I believe. Up north in the San Francisco Bay Area, my wife & I took a 2 1/2 hour "scenic drive" yesterday. We never got out of the car, except at our garage.. One remote area with a lot of walking trails through woodlands, was mobbed with cars and people out walking & biking around. A day earlier we drove through the rugged Santa Cruz mountains, and parking lots at trail heads were full of cars.

Stu Dudley

Yes stu. Driving is totally allowed. Even in the LA area AFAIK. The issue is if you do go somewhere and interact with people you need to disinfect the car. But me for instance -- I just got back from a spin through the foothills. No contact with anyone, definitely not ever w/i 6 feet of anyone else. But 60 minutes in the sunshine with the top down sure did a LOT for my frame of mind.

Yes, the link I posted was specifically for the city of Los Angeles. I though Jean lives in LA, but I must be mistaken.

But even that link doesn't ban other than essential driving. It lists types of businesses/errands one can drive to. But does not say anywhere that other driving isn't allowed.

I didn't say driving wasn't allowed, but that there are limited destinations you can drive to. Here's another article from today's LA Times which shows that far too many people are not really complying with the order to stay at home.

https://www.latimes.com/california/s...tay-home-rules

You posted "You're only allowed to drive somewhere that provides an essential service." (emphasis mine). That is what Stu and I were commenting about . . . the 'only' bit.

And that's how I understand it. What is it about "stay at home" that is so hard to understand?

It seems so utterly simple. How can those 3 words possibly be misunderstood?

From the state directive as originally announced... I don't know if anything has changed.

"Can I still exercise? Take my kids to the park for fresh air? Take a walk around the block? Walk my dog?

"Yes. So long as you are maintaining a safe social distance of six feet from people who aren’t part of your household, it is ok to go outside for exercise, a walk or fresh air. Gyms are closed.

"Does this order affect hiking? State Parks?

"No, you may still go outside so long as you practice social distancing of six feet. California State Parks have closed indoor facilities and campgrounds, but trails and outdoor spaces are still open. Spending time outdoors can lead to a number of overall health and wellness benefits like lessening anxiety, boosting creativity and getting your vitamin D. If you decide to make a trip, remember to keep social distance."

https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-exc...sential-needs/

We went for a drive today. Didn't stop. Didn't get out of the car. There were a LOT of people outdoors, mostly walking, jogging or cycling, slightly more than we would usually see on a Sunday in March and more than I expected to see since rain was forecast (and did arrive before we got home).

The only place I'm seeing people not abiding by the social distance rule is in the grocery store, so I briefly contemplated food delivery. After my next door neighbor returned from India, he decided to order groceries from Ralph's/Kroger's to be delivered. One week later, he thinks he might get his stuff tomorrow. So much for the delivery idea.

Right. My local CBS station here in San Diego showed our parks and beaches today...mobbed. So now they're closed. Stay at home. Take a walk round your neighborhood. Give people an inch and they take a mile.

It's striking to me that so many bright, usually law-abiding people can bend definitions to suit themselves. The intent is clear. We need the habit of distance as well as the distance itself. Home is where we can control our circumstances, if anywhere. How can we be sure of that miles from home on a lark?

Mayor Garcetti press conference expressed same concerns, people not social distancing outdoors on trails and beaches. Closing parking lots for Venice boardwalk which is in LA City, City golf courses, and recreation facilities.

Yep - going outside is currently "legal", as long as you maintain your distance from others. What I witnessed along the parks & trails was not social distancing. Crowded trails made the front page of the SF Chronicle today. The head of the East Bay Regional Parks Assocation said it was the "most crowded" he has seen in the 45 years he has been with the association. "People in charge" quickly closed many parking lots, roads to trails, parks, etc.

Stu Dudley

Another trainload of people just escaped from California. They arrived in Klamath Falls Oregon about an hour ago. We'll even pump your gas for you in Oregon.

I expect the attitudes might shift if and when someone in those crowds loses a family member or friend. Right now it's all just something unreal.

The phrase "suspending disbelief" comes to mind. Usually referring to the mental mechanism that allows us to go along with a fictional plot such as a movie or book, it seems to now apply to real life. But instead of coming back to reality when the book or movie ends, we must suspend disbelief all day every day, even though there's no visible evidence for most of us.. We are all now in the movie.

Jean, and other,
Here is my experience with grocery delivery as of a few minutes ago:

1. Shopped online with Von's (1 of 2 major SoCal supermarket chains, owned by Albertsons): Stuff has been sitting in my online cart since last Wednesday and I am unable to reach a live person via phone, email or chat.since theri system will not let me schedule a delivery. Gave my nephew a few bucks to drive to Von's last Thursday and their bread aisle was totally wiped out, I mean nothing on the aisle. As of today I am still not able to schedule a delivery or contact a live person.
2. Placed on order about noon with Ralph's (2nd major SoCal chain owned by Kroger) and it just arrived an hour early (they use a service called Instacart). I ordered 12 items and received 8, am missing my blueberry muffins and Ben and Jerry ice cream among others. So will ask my nephew to once again get a few things from the store for me.

So my advice is do not count on delivery as a good alternate, it is an OK alternate right now. I will say, as someone who regularly shops online, that I think things will get better but it will take a week or two. Store managers need to order a lot more product than normal since so many people are at home either by choice or not (like restaurant workers) and therefore the demand will be a lot higher than normal.

jamie99, I didn't get far on the Ralph's/Kroger's site. There were NO dates available for either pickup or delivery in my area. Without a date, you're done.

Thankfully, the two Ralph's stores near me have no shortage of fresh produce and frozen food. Some aisles are well stocked, but others are stripped bare. There has been no pasta or rice for more than two weeks now. Other fresh items like milk, chicken and meat are limited to two per customer.

I think store managers (or whoever) are trying their best, but there is some prioritizing going on and obviously some supply issues. And probably still some hoarding. Today, I realized that cat litter is disappearing and not being restocked, so I ordered from Petco.

One of my cats is diabetic and eats prescription food. I got an email today that my regular shipment of food may be delayed, so I guess supply issues are not affecting just grocery stores. I'm a little panicked but keeping my fingers crossed. Thankfully, I just got a new bottle of insulin and syringes which will last 3-4 months. But I worry about human diabetics and hope they're able to get their supplies.

Same all over California including Marin County per today's LA Times. The weather was just too nice, I guess. Lots of people of all ages out and not keeping the prescribed distance.
"Marin County, just north of San Francisco, Sunday ordered the immediate closure of all Marin County parks, including Point Reyes National Seashore, Muir Woods National Monument, Mt. Tamalpais State Park and all county, city and town parks. The crowds in Marin County over the weekend surged into local grocery stores and were sometimes bigger than seen typically in summertime.



“It would be best if residents and visitors enjoy the weather and natural beauty in their own yards and neighborhoods,” Dr. Lisa Santora, Marin County deputy public health officer, said in a statement."

https://www.latimes.com/california/s...is-yet-to-come

Jean, try logging on to Ralph's through Instacart. I have my Instacart setup to default to delivery from Ralph's but they do also deliver from Von's for more money. You do have to play around yesterday I first got the message "Delivery not available" but around after lunch, I got the message that the lead time for delivery was 5 hours (normally you can pick a specific window).

Tried again today. Still no pickup or delivery dates/times in the next 3 days.

I have friends who have pets that require special diets, I had a cat myself that did, we make it ourselves in batches & freeze them. You may be able to get the ingredients for your cat's food easier than whatever commercial version you buy. And I suspect fresh is better for them.

Jean, do you ever get pet stuff from chewy.com? We get food and flea stuff from there.

Yes, I get all of my cat stuff from Chewy. However, they are the company telling me that the delivery of my diabetic cat's food may be delayed. They also couldn't promise delivery of cat litter for another month, but Petco is supposedly able to deliver before next week. Fingers crossed on both the food and the litter.

I'm not going to attempt to find the ingredients to make proper diabetic cat food. I can barely put together balanced human meals right now.

I can make cat litter out of shredded newspapers, but I hope it doesn't come to that. I've had to do that when cats have undergone various treatments, and it's disgusting.

I hope our next shipment of dog food isn't delayed. Better check! I hope you find what you need.

I scored a single box of cat litter at Ralph's today. Still no TP for the humans, but I feel quite victorious!

Interestingly, Barbara, other than cat litter the pet aisle at my Ralph's has remained fully stocked.

Jean, I almost never go to Ralph's. The busiest Vons in San Diego is near me and I just go there. And TJ's! One might think that because this is the busiest, highest-grossing store in the area that it would, by now, be fully restocked. Today, the meat department's pre-packed case is almost full, but no meat or fish at themeat counter. Absolutely no paper goods. Almost no dairy products like yogurt, sour cream. There was milk. An improvement, but until they get everything stocked, and they keep telling us there's plenty, somewhere, people will keep on buying more than they need because they can see with their own eyesthat there are only two packs of tp left.

I went to Ralphs late last week for their first day of "senior" time (between 7 and 7:30 a.m.). The downside to going at that hour is the fish and meat "butcher" counter is not yet open. I got there at 6:45 a.m. and was second in line. There was a minimal amount of Kroger brand TP, with a sign that said 2 only limit. I took 1, thinking as time goes on, the craziness will lessen.

Today, before work (yes, I work in an "essential" business), I headed to our larger Ralphs in WLA around 9:45 a.m. Plenty of parking, plenty of baskets, no wait to get in. A person was handing out one sanitizing towlette to each person that entered (not that I needed, I was wearing latex gloves and an N95 mask, but took one anyway to clean the basket handle and my gloves. Now, there was plenty of TP, limited to 1 package per customer. I was able to get about everything I came for, but they were limited on frozen vegetables, no sanitizer or wipes, and missing some dog food products my dogs like. Oh, and no rice chex, but had the Kroger brand, which I hope my husband will find acceptable.

If you can buy the red lentil rotini or penne, aside from it being zero points on the purple weight watcher's plan, you can't tell the difference between that and regular (wheat based) pasta. People tend to not buy it because it's not what they would ordinarily buy and certainly not have tried it, so there is usually some stock.

I guess different Ralph's are getting different supply trucks... My two Ralph's (Manhattan Beach and El Segundo) have no TP or kleenex, no hand sanitizer or wipes, no pasta of any type, no yogurt and very limited butter, no tortillas, no juice except in cans, very little frozen food except pizza and weird stuff I'd never buy. The meat and fresh fish counters have been closed for the second week, but there are lots of fresh fruit and veggies and plenty of bread, cheese... and flowers!

Along with the cat litter, I also got the last bag of Japanese white rice (one of my husband's essentials of life) and some chicken, meat and pork. We're all set with food for a couple of weeks. I just hope the cat food arrives and that I can find some TP soon.

I've been telling my 97 y.o. mom about my shopping experiences, and she reminds me of the shortages and rationing in England during WWII. We are so spoiled. The little I bought today would be an entire family's rations for several months.

The rationing in the UK during WWII has crossed my mind too, but there is really no comparison. We do not have shortages of anything, we have foolish people who bought way more than they would need for a few weeks. Our supply of food has not been disrupted in any way other than good old America greed. And the grocery companies' logistics suck. I had a ration card when I was born, several years after the end of the war.