Alert is Informational Only, Recipients do not Need to Dial 9-1-1

SACRAMENTO – With COVID-19 spreading at an increasing rate throughout the state and many Californians now under a mandatory, Regional Stay-at-Home Order, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) will issue a region-wide emergency alert for the Bay Area Region at noon on Friday, December 18, asking residents to stay home except for essential activities.

The alert comes as the most recent statistics on COVID-19, including data on Intensive Care Unit (ICU) capacity shows that the Bay Area Region has dropped below 15% triggering a Regional Stay-at-Home Order in the area.

This message is informational only, and individuals who receive wireless alerts should not contact law enforcement or call 9-1-1.

The following alert will be sent via text message through the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system to cell phone users across the Bay Area Region:

“State of California: All Bay Area Counties now under state stay at home order. This builds on previous local orders. COVID-19 is spreading rapidly. Stay home except for essential activity. Wear a mask. Keep your distance. Visit covid19.ca.gov.”

The message will also be sent in Spanish and will read:

“Estado de CA: Todos los condados del area de la bahia estan bajo la orden estatal de permanecer en casa. Esto amplia las ordenes locales anteriores. COVID-19 se esta propagando rapidamente. Quedate en casa, excepto para la actividad esencial. Usa mascarilla. Manten tu distancia. Visite covid19.ca.gov.”

The geographically-targeted text messages will be sent to residents in the Bay Area Region counties of: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Sonoma.

The Regional Stay-at-Home Order will take effect in the region at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, December 17, 2020, and will remain in effect for at least three weeks. Regions will be eligible to exit from the order and return to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy once the ICU capacity projections for the following month are above or equal to 15%.

Read the full Regional Stay at Home Order and frequently asked questions.

Subsequent WEA messages could be sent to other regions of the state if they move into stay-at-home status.

It’s also important to re-iterate, this message is informational only, and individuals who receive wireless alerts should not contact law enforcement or call 9-1-1.

Under the terms of the State Department of Public Health order, when ICU capacity drops below 15% in a region, a list of sectors must close by 11:59 p.m. the next day including bars, breweries, distilleries, and wineries (except for production, manufacturing, and retail), hair salons and barbershops, and personal care services. In addition, a number of sectors in these regions, including restaurants, retail and shopping centers and hotels and lodging, will have additional modifications in addition to 100% masking and physical distancing.

Critical infrastructure, schools and non-urgent medical and dental care can remain open with appropriate infectious disease preventative measures.

Get more details on how to protect yourself from COVID-19: www.covid19.ca.govLearn more about Wireless Emergency Alerts: www.calalerts.org