text:
# COVID-19 pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, which includes the major cities of San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland, was an early center of the COVID-19 pandemic in California. The first case of COVID-19 in the area was confirmed in Santa Clara County on January 31, 2020. A Santa Clara County resident (with no foreign travel history) was the earliest known death caused by COVID-19 in the United States, on February 6, suggesting that community spread of COVID-19 had been occurring long before any actual documented case. This article covers the 13 members of ABAHO, which includes the nine-county Bay Area plus the counties of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz.
Local officials instituted some of the first mitigation efforts in the United States. The first mandatory stay-at-home order in the mainland U.S. took effect throughout the Bay Area on March 16 and 17 and continued until mid-May, affecting nearly 6.7 million people. The early government response is credited with mitigating the spread of infection compared to cities on the East Coast.
Closures due to the pandemic have resulted in mass unemployment and significant disruptions to the economy, replacing local governments' budget surpluses with historic deficits. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of distance education among schools and remote work among businesses, especially in the technology industry. Air quality around San Francisco Bay improved as a result of a temporary decline in traffic volume.

## Prevalence
| Counties      | Cases     | Recov.  | Deaths | Pop. (2019) | C/1M    | Ref. |
| 9             | 1,942,236 |         | 11,285 | 7,739,378   | 250,955 | Ref. |
| ------------- | --------- | ------- | ------ | ----------- | ------- | ---- |
| Santa Clara   | 532,752   | ?       | 3,226  | 1,927,852   | 276,345 | d c  |
| Alameda       | 400,532   | ?       | 2,528  | 1,671,329   | 239,649 | d c  |
| Contra Costa  | 302,824   | 300,666 | 1,601  | 1,153,526   | 262,520 | d c  |
| San Francisco | 203,788   | ?       | 1,394  | 881,549     | 231,170 | d c  |
| San Mateo     | 184,001   | ?       | 946    | 766,573     | 240,031 | d c  |
| Sonoma        | 119,749   | 118,903 | 668    | 494,336     | 242,242 | d c  |
| Solano        | 118,904   | 118,073 | 441    | 447,643     | 265,622 | d c  |
| Marin         | 44,650    | 7,030   | 274    | 258,826     | 172,510 | d c  |
| Napa          | 35,036    | 27,672  | 207    | 137,744     | 254,356 | d c  |
| 1. 2. 3.      |           |         |        |             |         |      |

Despite strong economic, cultural, and travel ties between California and China, the Bay Area's hospitalization rate and death toll have stayed below initial projections and have compared favorably to East Coast cities. Researchers have hypothesized that the pandemic's initial impact was blunted by relatively early social distancing measures along with a variety of other factors, including lower population density, a strong car culture and low public transportation ridership, favorable weather in February, and even a loss by the San Francisco 49ers at Super Bowl LIV, discouraging celebrations.
As of May 26, 2020, the nine counties of the Bay Area plus Santa Cruz County have reported a cumulative total of 13,060 confirmed cases and 434 confirmed deaths due to COVID-19. Alameda County has more confirmed cases and deaths than any other county in Northern California, followed by Contra Costa County. Some counties have released breakdowns of cases by jurisdiction. In Alameda County, Hayward has the highest per capita rate of infection at 270.2 people per every 100,000, while Oakland has the highest number of cases. San Mateo and San Jose have the highest number of cases in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, respectively.
As of May 17, 2020, the North Bay counties of Marin, Napa, and Sonoma have reported a cumulative total of 345 recoveries from COVID-19. The other Bay Area counties do not report the number of recoveries, because tracking this number requires more resources per case and federal guidelines are not specific enough to draw conclusions. A study at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), is tracking outcomes several months after infection.
The Hispanic population in the Bay Area has been disproportionately affected by infections. The poor, largely Latino neighborhoods in East San Jose account for 34% of Santa Clara County's first deaths due to COVID-19 despite being Latinos making up only 23% of the adult population. Almost 70% of the neighborhoods' working-age population is unable to remote work. Filipino Americans in the Bay Area have also been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 infections, and make up the majority of cases in San Mateo County, California. In San Francisco, about 40% of Hispanics have been confirmed infected, compared to 15% of the general population. The largely Latino Mission District has the highest number of cases of any neighborhood, with more than 40 cases per 10,000 residents. UCSF systematically tested 2,959 residents in a 16-block census tract in the Mission District in April, finding that 2% tested positive. Infection rates differed significantly between essential workers and residents who were able to stay at home during the pandemic.
Localized outbreaks of COVID-19 have occurred at factories and care facilities, including the Tesla factory in Fremont where over 130 people tested positive, the Lusamerica Foods fish packing plant in Morgan Hill where 38 people tested positive, the Central Gardens skilled nursing home in San Francisco's Western Addition where four residents died, and the Windsor Vallejo Care Center in Vallejo where more than 130 people became infected and eleven residents died.
The number of confirmed cases is believed to fall significantly short of actual infection rates due to limited testing capacity throughout the pandemic. As of May 20, 2020, San Francisco has collected 5,000 tests for every 100,000 residents, while Santa Clara County has collected about 2,600 tests for every 100,000 residents. Santa Clara County set up three testing sites in San Jose, but the sites are operating well below capacity, in part because of Spanish- and Vietnamese-language barriers.
Several local studies have attempted to determine seroprevalence in the absence of widespread clinical testing. Based on serology tests in early April, a revised preprint study from Stanford University estimated that Santa Clara County up to 54,000 residents, or 2.8% of the population, had been infected, compared to the 1,000 confirmed cases at the time. In an earlier preprint, the study's authors had estimated an even higher rate of infection but therefore calculated a lower mortality rate. Despite academic controversy over the study's methodology, which prompted the revision, the preprint fueled opposition to stay-at-home orders in the United States. The university has begun an investigation into the study. In addition to its study in San Francisco's Mission District, UCSF is conducting a similar study of all 1,680 residents in the rural community of Bolinas, and the University of California, Berkeley, is testing a representative sample of 5,000 East Bay residents.
In October 2020, Santa Clara County began wastewater surveillance of the SARS-CoV-2 virus's RNA at the San José–Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility and three other regional wastewater treatment plants in Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, and Gilroy, which together serve the vast majority of residents in the county.

## Progression

### Early cases
There has been speculation that COVID-19 may have been circulating in the Bay Area by December 2019. Ongoing "lookback studies" are attempting to identify the index case. An initial preprint of a study at Stanford University Medical Center has found no infected samples from November and December 2019. As of February 14, 2021, the earliest known cases in Santa Clara County have been dated to January 27, 2020.
On January 31, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the Bay Area and the seventh in the United States, a man in Santa Clara County who had recently traveled to Wuhan. The man recovered at home and was released from in-home isolation on February 20. On February 2, the CDC confirmed a second area case in a Santa Clara County woman who had also recently traveled to Wuhan. The two cases were unrelated.
On February 6, 2020, 57-year-old Patricia Dowd of San Jose died of COVID-19 without any known recent foreign travel. She had been unusually sick from the flu in late January, then recovered, remote worked, and suddenly died at home on February 6. A February 7 autopsy was completed in April (after virus tests on tissue samples) and attributed the death to transmural myocardial ischemia (infarction) with a minor component of myocarditis due to COVID-19 infection. Her case was discovered in April 2020; from then until August 2021, she was considered to have been the first COVID-19-related death in the U.S. It indicated that community transmission was happening undetected in the U.S., most likely since December 2019.
On February 26, 2020, a case of unknown origin was confirmed in a resident of Solano County. The UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento said that, when the person was transferred there on February 19, the medical team suspected it was COVID-19 and asked the CDC to test for SARS-CoV-2. The CDC initially refused since the person, who had no known exposure to the virus through travel or close contact with a known infected individual, did not meet the criteria for testing. The person was ultimately tested on February 23; the test results returned positive on February 26.
After this first case of community transmission in the U.S., the CDC revised its criteria for testing patients for SARS-CoV-2 and, on February 28, began sending out the new guidelines for healthcare workers.
The first case of the Omicron variant detected in the United States was also located in the Bay Area. A resident of San Francisco returned from South Africa on November 22, 2021, began showing mild symptoms on November 25, and was confirmed to have COVID-19 on November 29. The individual had been vaccinated but had not received a booster shot.

## Government response
The Bay Area public health response to the pandemic is being coordinated through the Association of Bay Area Health Officers (ABAHO), an organization consisting of the public health officers of 11 counties and two cities that was established in the 1980s to fight the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco. The health officers act in unison to avoid political pushback. ABAHO is informally divided between the "Big Seven", consisting of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties and the cities of Berkeley and San Francisco; and Santa Cruz, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, Sonoma, and Solano counties on the periphery of the Bay Area.
Unlike the shelter-in-place order, orders to wear face coverings such as cloth face masks while in public took effect at different times depending on the jurisdiction.

### 2020
- February 10: Santa Clara County declares a local health emergency. At the time, there were two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county and no known community transmission.[56]
- February 25: San Francisco Mayor London Breed declares a state of emergency that would allow city officials to assemble resources and personnel to expedite emergency measures in the event of a potential coronavirus case in the city.[57][58]
- February 27: Solano County declares a local health emergency to bolster response to COVID-19 cases.[59]
- March 9: Santa Clara County bans public gatherings of more than 1,000 people. Over the next few days, the county expands the bans to cover all gatherings, from San Jose Sharks games to library story hours, and closes all bars and pubs.[60]
- March 16: The "Big Seven" public health departments issued a joint shelter-in-place order, legally requiring all non-essential businesses to close and residents to stay at home except for essential needs, effective March 17.[61] It was the first such order in the mainland United States, coming a day after Puerto Rico went into lockdown.[62][55]
- March 17: The March 16 stay-at-home order is adopted by the remaining Bay Area county health departments.[55] Santa Clara County has enforced its shelter-in-place order with one of the strictest interpretations in the state.[63] The orders were timed to preempt Saint Patrick's Day celebrations.[55]
- March 30: The "Big Seven" health officers extend the shelter-in-place order to May 3,[64] easing some restrictions on outdoor activity.[65]
- April 13: Sonoma County issues a mask mandate effective April 17.[66]
- April 15: Fremont issues a mask mandate effective immediately.[67]
- April 17: Santa Clara County issues a mask advisory. The county refrained from issuing a mandate in order to avoid adding to police departments' enforcement responsibilities.[68][69]
- April 22: Mask mandates take effect in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties.[70]
- April 24: Mask mandates take effect in Milpitas and Cupertino.[71]
- April 29: The shelter-in-place order is extended again to May 31.[5]
- May 4: Santa Clara County issues a mask mandate for businesses.[72] Palo Alto issued a face mask order on May 13.[69]
- May 7: The Big Cities Health Coalition estimates that the Bay Area's shelter-in-place orders prevented 188,000 hospitalizations and 19,000 deaths in Santa Clara County, Alameda County, and San Francisco.[7]
- May 14: San Benito County meets the California Department of Public Health's criteria to resume dine-in service at restaurants as part of phase 2 of Governor Gavin Newsom's statewide reopening plan.[73]
- May 15: San Mateo County issues a new shelter-in-place order ahead of the Bay Area-wide order that expired on May 31. The county's order allowed nonessential retail and other businesses to offer curbside pickup service. This order, which aligned with phase 2 of the state reopening plan, marked the first departure from the unified front that Bay Area health officials had maintained until then.[74]
- May 18: Despite initial reservations by Contra Costa and Santa Clara county health officials, they and their counterparts in Alameda County, Berkeley, Marin County, and San Francisco issue a joint order on that implemented phase 2 reopening.[75][76] Napa, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Sonoma counties were also moving forward with phase 2.[77][78]
- May 26: Napa, San Benito, Solano, and Sonoma Counties begin allowing hair salons and barbershops to reopen.[25]
- July 13: The San Francisco Zoo reopens to members with reservations required.
- July 14: University of California-Berkeley Botanical Gardens reopens to members with reservations required.
- July 15: The San Francisco Zoo reopens to the general public with reservations required.[79]
- July 22: University of California-Berkeley Botanical Gardens reopens to the general public with reservations required.[80]
- August 31: The statewide Blueprint for a Safer Economy reopening plan comes into effect. Napa and San Francisco Counties are at Substantial, while all other Bay Area counties are at Widespread.
  - Napa County directly follows the state's reopening guidelines.
  - San Francisco delays the reopening of businesses.[81]
- September 1: San Francisco allows personal care services and indoor malls to reopen.
- September 8: Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties are upgraded from Widespread to Substantial. Both counties directly follow the state's reopening guidelines.[82][83]
- September 14: San Francisco allows indoor nail salons, piercing shops, tattoo parlors, and indoor fitness/dance/yoga studios to reopen.
- September 15: Marin County is upgraded from Widespread to Substantial. The county directly follows the state's reopening guidelines.[84]
- September 21: San Francisco allows museums/zoos/aquariums and elementary schools to reopen. Elementary schools in San Francisco Unified School District remain closed.
- September 22:
  - Alameda, San Mateo, and Solano Counties are upgraded from Widespread to Substantial.
    - Alameda County delays the reopening of businesses.[85]
    - San Mateo and Solano Counties directly follow the state's reopening guildines.[86][87]

  - The de Young Museum reopens to members with reservations required. The de Young Observation Level, Coat Check, de Youngsters Studio, and Piazzoni Murals Room remain closed.[88]
- September 25:
  - The de Young Museum reopens to the general public with reservations required. The de Young Observation Level, Coat Check, de Youngsters Studio, and Piazzoni Murals Room remain closed.
  - Alameda County allows nail salons to reopen. Nail salons have since been allowed to reopen statewide.
- September 29:
  - San Francisco County is upgraded from Substantial to Moderate. The reopening of businesses is delayed.
  - Contra Costa County is upgraded from Widespread to Substantial. The county directly follows the state's reopening guidelines.[89]
- September 30: San Francisco allows indoor dining and places of worship to reopen.
- October 7: San Francisco allows movie theaters to reopen without concessions.[90]
  - The National Association of Theatre Owners of California/Nevada stated that their cinemas in San Francisco would remain closed due to the concessions ban, as it "makes it economically impossible for our members to reopen and significantly limits the moviegoing experience for our audiences."[91]
- October 9: Alameda County allows museums, zoos, aquariums, personal care services, libraries, fitness/dance/yoga studios, and outdoor film production to reopen.
- October 13:
  - Alameda and Santa Clara Counties are upgraded from Substantial to Moderate.
    - Alameda County delays the reopening of businesses.
    - Santa Clara County follows the state's guidelines, with the exception of allowing indoor restaurants to increase their capacity beyond 25%.[92]

  - San Benito County is upgraded from Widespread to Substantial. The county directly follows the state's reopening guidelines.
  - Alameda County allows elementary schools to reopen.
  - The California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park reopens to members with reservations required. Exhibits and spaces with a high degree of interactivity or where it is difficult to maintain physical distance remain closed, including the Morrison Planetarium, the Naturalist Center, the Curiosity Grove, and the Discovery Tidepool.[93]
- October 20:
  - San Francisco County is upgraded from Moderate to Minimal. The reopening of businesses is delayed.
  - Napa County is upgraded from Substantial to Moderate. The county directly follows the state's reopening guidelines.[94]
- October 22: The California Academy of Sciences reopens to the general public with reservations required. Exhibits and spaces with a high degree of interactivity or where it is difficult to maintain physical distance remain closed, including the Morrison Planetarium, the Naturalist Center, the Curiosity Grove, and the Discovery Tidepool.[93]
- October 23: Alameda County allows places of worship and cultural ceremonies, indoor dining, movie theaters, bowling alleys, and climbing walls to reopen. The county also allows indoor retailers and shopping centers to expand their capacity from 25% to 50% and fitness/dance/yoga studios to expand their capacity from 10% to 25%.[95]
- October 26: Schools in Mountain House Elementary School District reopen for Grades TK–6. In-person attendance is only on Monday through Thursday.
- October 27:
  - Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz Counties are upgraded from Substantial to Moderate. All four counties directly follow the state's reopening guidelines.[96][97][98][99]
  - San Francisco allows climbing walls and offices of non-essential businesses to reopen. The city also allows fitness/dance/yoga studios to expand their indoor capacity from 10% to 25%.
- November 3: San Francisco allows swimming pools and bowling alleys to reopen. The city also allows places of worship, museums/zoos/aquariums, indoor dining, and movie theaters to expand their indoor capacity from 25% to 50%.
- November 9:
  - Alameda County allows middle schools and high schools to reopen.[100]
  - Fremont Christian School reopens for Grades 3–5.
- November 10: Contra Costa and Santa Cruz Counties are downgraded from Moderate to Substantial.
- November 16:
  - Alameda, Napa, and Santa Clara Counties are downgraded from Moderate to Widespread.
  - San Francisco County is downgraded from Minimal to Substantial.
  - Contra Costa, San Benito, Santa Cruz, and Solano Counties are downgraded from Substantial to Widespread.
  - Marin and San Mateo Counties are downgraded from Moderate to Substantial.
- November 28: San Francisco and San Mateo Counties are downgraded from Substantial to Widespread.
- November 30: Fremont Christian School reopens for Grades K–2.
- December 1: Schools in Piedmont Unified School District reopen for Grades K–2.
- December 6:
  - 10:00 p.m.: Contra Costa, San Francisco, and Santa Clara Counties, as well as the City of Berkeley, preemptively implement the state's December 3 regional stay-at-home order.[101]
  - 11:59 p.m.: The regional stay-at-home order goes into effect for the San Joaquin Valley region, which includes San Benito County.
- December 7: Alameda County preemptively implements the state's stay-at-home order.[102]
- December 8:
  - Marin County preemptively implements the state's stay-at-home order.
  - Marin County is downgraded from Substantial to Widespread.
  - Schools in Piedmont Unified School District reopen for Grades 3–5.
- December 16: San Mateo becomes the final Bay Area county to ban outdoor dining
- December 17: 11:59 p.m.: The regional stay-at-home order goes into effect for the Bay Area region, which includes all ABAHO counties excluding San Benito County.

### 2021
- January 25: The regional stay-at-home order is lifted statewide.
- February 23: Marin and San Mateo become the first Bay Area counties since early December to leave the purple tier, being upgraded from Widespread to Substantial
- March 2: Napa, San Francisco, and Santa Clara upgraded from Widespread to Substantial
- March 9: Alameda and Solano upgraded from Widespread to Substantial
- March 13: Contra Costa and Sonoma upgraded from Widespread to Substantial
- March 16: San Mateo becomes the first Bay Area county since mid-November to enter the orange tier, being upgraded from Substantial to Moderate
- March 23: Marin, San Francisco, and Santa Clara upgraded from Substantial to Moderate
- March 30: Alameda upgraded from Substantial to Moderate
- April 6: Contra Costa, Napa, and Sonoma upgraded from Substantial to Moderate
- May 4: San Francisco upgraded from Moderate to Minimal
- May 11: San Mateo upgraded from Moderate to Minimal
- May 19: Santa Clara upgraded from Moderate to Minimal
- June 1: Solano upgraded from Substantial to Moderate
- June 8: Alameda and Napa upgraded from Moderate to Minimal
- June 15: BSE system ended statewide.
- August 2: The counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara (as well as the City of Berkeley) re-introduce a mask mandate for all persons regardless of vaccination status.[103]
- August 12: San Francisco becomes the first major city in the U.S. to require proof of vaccination for customers of restaurants, bars, and gyms.[104]
- September 2: Berkeley announces that it will require proof of vaccination customers of restaurants, bars, and gyms.[105]
- September 23: Oakland Unified School District announces a vaccine mandate for all students aged 12+.[106]
- September 29: Santa Cruz County lifts its indoor mask mandate, effective immediately.[107]
- October 7: San Francisco announces that it will lift its mask mandate, effective October 15, for gatherings of under 100 people where everyone is vaccinated.[108]
- October 8: Marin County announces the same modifications to its mask mandate as San Francisco, also effective October 15.[109]
- October 13: San Francisco begins mandating vaccination for workers of restaurants, bars, and gyms.[110]
- October 30: Marin County announces an end to its indoor mask mandate, effective November 1.[111]

### 2022
- January 12: Sonoma County institutes a 30-day ban on indoor gatherings of more than 50 people and outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people.[112]
- January 27: San Francisco announces that it will lift its indoor mask mandate if everyone has received a booster dose of the vaccine, effective February 1.[113]
- February 20: Point Bonita Lighthouse, located in the Marin Headlands near Sausalito, resumes tours for the first time after two years of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[114]

## Military response
The California National Guard and California State Guard activated medical units in the Bay Area to assist local and state government agencies in their COVID-19 response.
In the Bay Area, the California Air National Guard has set up Federal Medical Stations at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara (known as the Field Respite Center), the San Mateo County Event Center in San Mateo, and Craneway Pavilion in Richmond. The temporary field hospitals, which are managed by the Strategic National Stockpile Division of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, can receive noncritical patients from local hospitals for convalescent care. The Santa Clara location was converted on March 21 and admitted its first two patients on April 5. The Air National Guard converted the San Mateo location on April 1 and the Richmond location the following day.

## Community and academic response
The Innovative Genomics Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, headed by Dr. Jennifer Doudna converted the genomic-editing research laboratory to run COVID-19 tests. Despite a widespread need for COVID testing, doctors and hospitals were hesitant to use the newly set up labs in favor of major commercial laboratories like LabCorp and Quest.

## Economic impact

### Unemployment
As in other parts of California and the United States, the Bay Area has experienced a dramatic increase in unemployment as a result of voluntary and mandatory social distancing measures. In April 2020, unemployment in the Bay Area increased by 555,100 residents or 13.7% month over month, including a 15.1% increase in private-sector job losses.
Unemployment has affected the Bay Area unevenly from one area or industry to another. Despite layoffs by startups in March and April, job losses in the technology industry increased by only 4.1%, compared to an increase by more than 50% in the hospitality industry. Due to the technology industry's dominance in Santa Clara County known as Silicon Valley, unemployment increased by only 11.2% there in April, compared to 14.6% in the East Bay and 14.4% in San Francisco and San Mateo County. In San Francisco, which is relatively dependent on tourism, over 100,000 residents, or about one-ninth of the city's population, filed for unemployment benefits during the pandemic.
As of May 13, 2020, large Bay Area employers have collectively sent the state Employment Development Department about 24,700 WARN notices about proposed mass layoffs, furloughs, or facility closures.

### Construction
Bay Area counties' strict interpretations of shelter-in-place orders halted most residential and commercial construction projects. Some construction projects resumed in mid-May.

### Government
San Francisco has tentatively projected that its deficit will double to between $1.1 billion and $1.7 billion over fiscal years 2020 and 2021.
Redwood City expects to have a balanced budget in 2020 but a $10 million deficit in 2021.
As of May 2020, San Jose projects a $45 million deficit for fiscal year 2019–20 and a $71.6 million deficit for 2020–21, revised downward from a $500,000 surplus projected in 2019. The impact will be significantly worse than either the dot-com bust or the Great Recession. Palo Alto projected a $40 million loss in revenue.
Oakland projected an $80 million deficit over 14 months and has laid off part-time employees. Berkeley projected a $2.6 million deficit in 2020 and a $25.2 million deficit in 2021.
Richmond projected a $7 million deficit in 2020 and a $27 million deficit in 2021. Walnut Creek closed a $13 million budget gap in 2020 but expects a $12 million deficit in 2021.
Vallejo projected a $13 million deficit.
Napa projected a $10 million deficit in 2020 and a deficit from $15 million to $20 million in 2021.
Santa Rosa tapped its reserves to close a $12 million budget gap in 2020 but expects a $20 million deficit in 2021.
Sausalito expects a $1.6 million deficit for fiscal year 2019–20 and a $4.9 million deficit for 2020–21.

### Manufacturing
Some major Bay Area manufacturers, such as Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale and Chevron Corporation in San Ramon, have been exempted from shelter-in-place orders as essential businesses. However, the Tesla Factory in Fremont was not exempted and was forced to halt production, resulting in the furlough of nearly 11,100 employees. On May 11, Tesla resumed manufacturing operations at the factory despite an Alameda County order allowing only minimum basic operations.

### Retail and foodservice
The March 13 announcement of a shelter-in-place order triggered a wave of panic buying throughout the region.
By April, the Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco area (Alameda, Contra Costa, and Marin counties and San Francisco) fell by 0.5% compared to February, a 1.1% rise year over year. By category, retail prices rose by 14.5% year over year for meat, 9.6% for dairy, 6.7% for food at home (bought in stores), and 0.6% for alcohol. Retail prices fell by 28.4% for regular unleaded gas, 27.6% year over year for motor fuel in general, 12% for clothing, and 7.8% for transportation.
Of the San Jose Downtown Association's more than 1,600 member businesses, 83% are temporarily or permanently closed, 9% are operating with reduced service, and 8% are fully operational as of mid-May.
Due to the pandemic, the Pleasanton-based Specialty's bakery-café chain, which specialized in corporate catering, permanently closed its more than 50 locations on May 19, 2020, after 33 years in business. San Jose–based Fry's Electronics also blamed the pandemic for its closure on February 24, 2021.

### Technology
The technology industry was not as heavily impacted by stay-at-home orders as the leisure and hospitality industries. Demand for Bay Area–based teleconferencing and e-commerce services increased significantly during the pandemic. According to San Jose–based Zoom Video Communications, usage of its Zoom software rose to 300 million active users, compared to about 10 million per day in December 2019.
By early March, many large technology companies began encouraging or requiring employees to remote work. These social distancing measures, which predated mandatory shelter-in-place orders, are credited with helping to lessen the initial impact of the pandemic.
On May 15, the Bay Area Council released a survey finding that 17.9% of companies planned to keep their employees remote working on a permanent basis, while 89.3% planned to remain a partially remote workforce. Facebook, Square, Inc., Google and Twitter announced permanent or extended remote work policies.
As of June 2020, Lyft, Yelp, IBM, and LendingClub disclosed a combined total of 1,000 planned layoffs in the Bay Area.
Technology conferences that are normally held in Bay Area cities have been canceled, postponed, or replaced by Internet streaming events, including:
- Apple Worldwide Developers Conference –  moved online[143]
- Dreamforce (San Francisco's largest conference) –  moved online[144]
- Facebook F8 –  canceled[145]
- Game Developers Conference –  postponed[146]
- Google Cloud Next –  canceled[147]
- Google I/O –  canceled[147]
- GPU Technology Conference –  moved online[148]
- VMworld –  moved online[149]

The RSA Conference was held in February as scheduled, but Verizon, AT&T, and IBM pulled out of the conference on February 21, as concerns began to grow about the pandemic.

### Tourism
San Francisco's economy is heavily dependent on tourism, which normally employs 90,000 people and generates more tax revenue than any other industry in the city. International tourism normally accounts for 64% of San Francisco's tourism spending but has largely disappeared during the pandemic. San Francisco's destination marketing organization is projecting visitor volume  to recover to 18.4 million for 2021, still down 30 percent to 2019.  Gradual improvement will be driven primarily by domestic visitation. International tourism will take much longer to recover.

## Social impact

### Education
On April 1, school superintendents in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties announced that in-person classes would not resume during the 2019–20 school year.
Many Bay Area colleges and universities have announced plans for instruction in response to the pandemic:
| Institution                                    | Fall 2020                                                                                | Spring 2021         |
| ---------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------- |
| Berkeley City College                          | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| California College of the Arts                 | mixture of online and in-person classes with distance learning options for some first-year undergraduates | Unknown             |
| California State University, East Bay          | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| California State University Maritime Academy   | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| California State University, Monterey Bay      | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Cañada College                                 | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| City College of San Francisco                  | online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| College of Alameda                             | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| College of San Mateo                           | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Contra Costa College                           | online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone | in person                                                                                | Unknown             |
| De Anza College                                | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Diablo Valley College                          | online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Dominican University of California             | in person                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Evergreen Valley College                       | online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Foothill College                               | online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Holy Names University                          | in person                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Laney College                                  | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Los Medanos College                            | online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Menlo College                                  | in person, but start of fall semester delayed                                                             | Unknown             |
| Merritt College                                | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Notre Dame de Namur University                 | new undergraduate admissions suspended                                                                    | Unknown             |
| Pacific School of Religion                     | in person, but introducing distance learning options                                                      | Unknown             |
| Presidio Graduate School                       | resuming online instruction with monthly in-person residencies                                            | Unknown             |
| Saint Mary's College of California             | in person                                                                                | Unknown             |
| San Francisco State University                 | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| San Jose City College                          | online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| San Jose State University                      | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Santa Clara University                         | mixture of in-person and online classes                                                                   | Unknown             |
| Santa Rosa Junior College                      | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Skyline College                                | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Sonoma State University                        | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| Stanford University                            | most classes online, all single dormitory rooms                                                           | Unknown             |
| Starr King School for the Ministry             | most classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| University of California, Berkeley             | some or all classes online                                                                                | Unknown             |
| University of the Pacific                      | in person                                                                                | Unknown             |
| University of San Francisco                    | most classes online                                                                                | most classes online |
| William Jessup University                      | in person                                                                                | Unknown             |

On February 15, 2022, three commissioners of the San Francisco Board of Education were recalled in the city's first recall election in 39 years. The school board's decision to keep schools closed longer than other major school districts was cited as a factor in the successful recall effort.

### Hunger
Over the first 10 weeks since the shelter-in-place order was issued, Bay Area food banks have seen demand double and calls increase a thousandfold. According to Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, the number of residents needing food distribution increased 40% from 270,000 in February to 370,000 in April. The Alameda County Community Food Bank has distributed over a million of pounds of food a week and seen lines stretching more than 1,000 cars in a day.

### Housing
An ongoing housing shortage in California has increased housing costs dramatically and contributed to the Bay Area's high rates of homelessness. Homeless shelters have been major sites of community transmission. On April 10, 70 of 144 occupants of one homeless shelter in San Francisco were confirmed to have COVID-19.
By April, the number of tents and makeshift structures increased by 71% over the previous quarter in San Francisco and by 285% in the Tenderloin neighborhood specifically. As of May 3, 2020, San Francisco has leased 2,700 hotel rooms as emergency housing for at-risk homeless people and first responders. Although the state government has reserved hotel rooms throughout the state for similar purposes, homeless people have come to the city from other areas looking for hotel rooms, prompting Mayor London Breed to focus the city's emergency housing resources on local homeless people.
There are nearly 6,200 homeless people in San Jose, most of them Hispanic or African American. At least 2,500 are considered at high risk for infection due to underlying health conditions. The city added more than 400 temporary beds at homeless shelters, including a temporary shelter near the San Jose Convention Center. In mid-March, shortly after the shelter-in-place order took effect, the Governor's Office of Emergency Services delivered 104 trailers to a property near Happy Hollow Park & Zoo to use as emergency housing. After repairs, 90 trailers began accepting occupants on May 14.
On March 17, San Jose became one of the first jurisdictions in the U.S. to place a moratorium on evictions, followed by surrounding Santa Clara County, San Francisco, Oakland, and cities across the country.
The following Bay Area jurisdictions have placed moratoria on evictions:
- Alameda County –  until December 31 or until the local health emergency expires, whichever comes later[187]
  - Fremont –  until 30 days after the local health emergency expires[187]
  - Hayward –  until September 30[187]
  - Oakland –  until August 31[187]
- Contra Costa County –  until September 30[187]
  - Concord –  until September 30[187]
  - Richmond –  until September 30[187]
- San Francisco –  until August 31[187]
- San Mateo County –  until August 31[187]
  - San Mateo –  for commercial tenants until the local health emergency expires[188]
- Santa Clara County –  until August 31[187]
  - Mountain View –  until August 31[187]
  - Palo Alto –  until the local health emergency expires[187]
  - San Jose –  until August 31[187]
  - Sunnyvale –  until the local health emergency expires[187]

San Jose temporarily modified its rent control ordinance to place a moratorium on rent increases through the end of 2020, affecting tens of thousands of apartment buildings and mobile home parks. Oakland also extended a 3.5% limit to rent increases until June 30.

### Legal system
On March 20, Alameda County officials announced that 247 people would be released from Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.

### Transportation
Beginning March 13, the United States Department of Homeland Security required Americans traveling from the Schengen Area, China, and Iran to enter the U.S. through one of 13 airports, including San Francisco International Airport (SFO). In March, 508,100 passengers traveled through the San Jose International Airport (SJC), down 58.6% year over year, after consistent gains before the pandemic. By the beginning of April, foot traffic at SFO, SJC, and Oakland International Airport had fallen by 73% compared to before the pandemic, according to Foursquare location tracking data.
Public transportation agencies in the Bay Area have lost significant sources of funding from simultaneous, dramatic declines in ridership and sales tax revenue and the suspension of planned fare increases, even as the agencies maintain core service to serve essential workers. The agencies expect to receive $1.3 billion in stimulus funding from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, with the largest share going to the Bay Area Rapid Transit District and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency.
In the first week of the shelter-in-place order, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) ridership fell by 87% to 89% of average ridership in February, though it had already begun falling with technology companies' transition to remote work. Ridership in April and early May stayed between 90% and 94% below the baseline average. BART suspended late weekday night service on March 23, 2020, and reduced weekend service on March 28, 2020. Beginning April 8, BART reduced weekday train frequency by half and ran only long train consists to facilitate social distancing. To prepare for commuters' return to BART, the system accelerated its adoption of contactless payment, eliminating paper ticket vending machines in favor of Clipper card vending machines at several stations and expanding its mobile application's parking payment feature to all stations.
Caltrain's ridership dropped by 75% in the first half of March, prior to the Bay Area–wide shelter-in-place order taking effect, then dropped further to only five percent of normal levels, resulting in losses of $9 million per month. Due to low ridership, Caltrain suspended Baby Bullet service on March 13. On March 26, it further reduced weekday service from 92 trains per day to 42, suspending Limited service.
The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which operates Caltrain, had been planning to propose a one-eighth-cent sales tax for voter approval later in the year, to provide an estimated $108 million of dedicated funding for the system, which currently relies on rider fares for 70% of its revenue. In July, after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors initially declined to consider the ballot proposal, citing concerns about the system's governance structure, Caltrain officials warned that the agency would run out of operating funds and be forced to suspend service by the end of the year. In August, San Mateo County officials agreed to make Caltrain more independent from SamTrans in exchange for places the sales tax on the ballot. In June 2021, Caltrain announced that electric service would be delayed to late 2024 partly due to supply chain disruptions during the pandemic.
On May 4, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority began requiring every rider to wear a face covering, such as a cloth face mask, to reduce the risk of transmission.
The San Francisco Municipal Railway reduced bus service to core routes and suspended Muni Metro service.
On March 21, state-owned toll bridges in the Bay Area stopped accepting cash in favor of open road tolling via FasTrak and paying by plate. FasTrak also temporarily suspended late fees and collections.
On April 29, Lyft discontinued its electric scooter service in San Jose and Oakland in conjunction with a major round of layoffs. Lyft continued to operate its Bay Wheels bike sharing service.
Casual carpooling ended in March 2020. As of November 2022 it has not resumed.

### Race relations
There have been documented incidents of racism towards Bay Area Asian Pacific Americans.
Officials and community-based organizations expressed concern that fears about COVID-19 were disproportionately affecting local Asian-American businesses. On February 24, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi toured San Francisco's Chinatown to support local shops that had seen declining business since the epidemic began in China.
Several peaceful protests took place in the Bay Area during the pandemic to raise awareness about police brutality. One in San Mateo on June 3, 2020, was attended by hundreds of people. A youth-led protest against police brutality in San Francisco attracted at least 10,000 protesters to the Mission District.

### Recreation
To promote social distancing during the Memorial Day weekend, the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department painted a grid of white circles 10 feet (3.0 m) in diameter, spaced 8 feet (2.4 m) apart, on the grass at Mission Dolores Park, Washington Square, and two other city parks. City of Berkeley posted signs with numbers of people allowed on the playgrounds and reminding users to maintain social distancing and limits.
The fifth semiannual Viva CalleSJ street festival in San Jose had been scheduled for May 17 but was replaced with a virtual tour.

### Religion
On March 13, 2020, the Roman Catholic Diocese of San José closed all diocesan schools from until at least April 20. It suspended public Masses and dispensed with the obligation to attend Mass from March 14 until further notice. The Diocese of Oakland also suspended public Masses on March 16, and the Archdiocese of San Francisco and Diocese of Santa Rosa followed suit on March 17. On March 18, the California Catholic Conference of bishops suspended the public celebration of Mass throughout the state until further notice.
On May 23, 2021, the Diocese of Santa Rosa lifted the dispensation from obligation to attend Sunday Mass. The Archdiocese of San Francisco also lifted the dispensation on June 24, followed by the Diocese of Oakland on August 15. On February 8, 2022, the Diocese of San José announced that the dispensation would be lifted effective March 6.

### Sports
After Santa Clara County banned all large gatherings larger than 1,000 people for a three-week period beginning March 11, the San Jose Sharks of the NHL and the Golden State Warriors of the NBA announced that all of their remaining home games of the regular season would be played behind closed doors with no spectators. With their game on March 12 against the Brooklyn Nets, the Warriors were to be the first professional sports team in the United States to play a home game behind closed doors due to the pandemic, before the NBA suspended the season one day prior.
Along with a Sacramento-area school, Archbishop Riordan High School and the Menlo School withdrew from the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Northern California championship tournament after their schools were forced to close.
Stanford University announced plans to cut 11 of its 36 varsity sports at the end of the 2020–21 school year, citing a $70 million deficit due to the pandemic.

## Vaccinations
|               | Vaccinations | Population |
|               | 3,947,957    | 7,739,378  |
| ------------- | ------------ | ---------- |
| Santa Clara   | 842,396      | 1,927,852  |
| Alameda       | 841,690      | 1,671,329  |
| Contra Costa  | 614,689      | 1,153,526  |
| San Francisco | 493,749      | 881,549    |
| San Mateo     | 422,406      | 766,573    |
| Sonoma        | 283,625      | 494,336    |
| Solano        | 185,628      | 447,643    |
| Marin         | 179,010      | 258,826    |
| Napa          | 84,764       | 137,744    |

The first vaccinations in the Bay Area took place on December 15, 2020, at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital after the city received 12,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Mass vaccination sites were opened across the region in February 2021. The first three mass vaccination sites were located at the Oakland Coliseum, the Moscone Center and City College.
The Santa Clara County Public Health Department administered 1.9 million vaccinations, about a third of all vaccinations in the county, at a cost of $1 billion. At the peak of the pandemic, the department operated one of the largest vaccination sites in the United States, serving about 14,000 patients per day at Levi's Stadium. Other vaccination sites, including those at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds and San Antonio Shopping Center, are scheduled to operate until the end of the public health emergency on February 28, 2023.

## Environmental impact
The Bay Area–wide shelter-in-place order resulted in significant a reduction in road traffic volume, the main source of air pollution in the area. During the first week after the shelter-in-place order took effect, air pollutant levels fell by one-third year over year, while nitrogen dioxide levels in the atmosphere dropped by roughly half compared to the previous week. Traffic on the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge fell by about 40% compared to two weeks earlier. By April, traffic in the Bay Area had decreased by 70%. An 11% reduction in shipping traffic at the Port of Oakland could have also contributed to air quality improvements. An assistant professor of earth system science at Stanford University estimated that improved Bay Area air quality during the shutdown would result in roughly 10 fewer deaths caused by air pollution per week. According to Save the Bay, the decrease in traffic volume also led to decreased water and noise pollution in and around San Francisco Bay. However, traffic volumes and congestion may return to normal levels or worse after the shelter-in-place orders are lifted, due to the avoidance of public transportation.
Disposable, non-biodegradable face masks and latex gloves used during the pandemic have been discarded on sidewalks and in lakes, raising concern about new sources of litter going into the San Francisco Bay at a time when fewer volunteers are available to pick up litter.

wikiname: enwiki

in_language: en

wikitext:
{{Short description|none}}
{{for|effects of the pandemic in the state|COVID-19 pandemic in California}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox pandemic
| name            = COVID-19 pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area
| image           = Federal Medical Station, San Mateo County Event Center (17).jpg
| caption         = A Federal Medical Station in [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]] shortly after it opened
| map1            =
| legend1         =
| location        = [[San Francisco Bay Area]], [[California]], U.S.
| first_case      = [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]]
| virus_strain    = [[Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2|SARS-CoV-2]]
| disease         = [[Coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19]]
| arrival_date    = {{#time: F j, Y | {{#invoke: Medical cases data | statistics | arrivalDate | config = San Francisco Bay Area }} }}<ref name="SCCPHD cases by date">{{cite web|title=COVID-19 case counts by date|publisher=Santa Clara County Public Health Department|url=https://data.sccgov.org/COVID-19/COVID-19-case-counts-by-date/6cnm-gchg}}</ref>
| confirmed_cases = {{formatnum:{{#invoke: Medical cases data | statistics | cases | config = San Francisco Bay Area }}}} in 9 counties
| suspected_cases =
| recovery_cases  = {{formatnum:{{#invoke: Medical cases data | statistics | recoveries | config = San Francisco Bay Area }}}} in {{#invoke: Medical cases data | statistics | recoveriesRegions | config = San Francisco Bay Area }} counties
| deaths          = {{formatnum:{{#invoke: Medical cases data | statistics | deaths | config = San Francisco Bay Area }}}} in 9 counties
| origin          = <!--As of March 17, 2019-->[[Wuhan]], [[Hubei]], [[China]]
| website         =
}}

The [[San Francisco Bay Area]], which includes the major cities of [[San Jose, California|San Jose]], [[San Francisco]], and [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], was an early center of the [[COVID-19 pandemic in California]].<ref name="NYT Arango">{{cite news|title=California's Coronavirus Shutdowns Set the Tone. What's Its Next Step?|first=Tim|last=Arango|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=April 14, 2020|access-date=May 12, 2020|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/us/california-coronavirus-shutdown.html}}</ref> The first case of [[Coronavirus disease 2019|COVID-19]] in the area was confirmed in [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]] on January 31, 2020.<ref name="CNBC Lovelace" /> A Santa Clara County resident (with no foreign travel history) was the earliest known death caused by COVID-19 in the United States, on February 6,<ref name="KNTV autopsy">{{cite news|title=Autopsy Reports Date First COVID-19 Bay Area Deaths to February|publisher=[[KNTV]]|date=April 21, 2020|access-date=April 22, 2020|url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/south-bay/autopsies-date-first-covid-19-bay-area-deaths-to-february/2277106/}}</ref> suggesting that community spread of COVID-19 had been occurring long before any actual documented case. This article covers the 13 members of ABAHO, which includes the nine-county Bay Area plus the counties of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz.

Local officials instituted some of the first mitigation efforts in the United States. The first mandatory [[stay-at-home order]] in the mainland U.S. took effect throughout the Bay Area on March 16 and 17 and continued until mid-May,<ref name="KRON Asperin" /> affecting nearly 6.7 million people.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bay Area coronavirus decision: Behind the scenes of nation's first shelter-in-place order|first=Sarah|last=Ravani|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=March 21, 2020|access-date=March 22, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Area-coronavirus-decision-Behind-the-scenes-15148425.php}}</ref> The early government response is credited with mitigating the spread of infection compared to cities on the East Coast.<ref name="NYT Arango" /><ref name="Merc Vongs" />

Closures due to the pandemic have resulted in mass unemployment and significant disruptions to the economy, replacing local governments' budget surpluses with historic deficits. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of [[distance education]] among schools and [[remote work]] among businesses, especially in the technology industry. Air quality around [[San Francisco Bay]] improved as a result of a temporary decline in traffic volume.

==Prevalence==
{{COVID-19 pandemic data/San Francisco Bay Area medical cases by county}}
<!-- {{Interactive COVID-19 maps/Per capita confirmed cases/San Francisco Bay Area}} -->

Despite strong economic, cultural, and travel ties between California and China, the Bay Area's hospitalization rate and death toll have stayed below initial projections and have compared favorably to East Coast cities. Researchers have hypothesized that the pandemic's initial impact was blunted by relatively early [[social distancing]] measures along with a variety of other factors, including lower population density, a strong [[car culture]] and low public transportation ridership, favorable weather in February, and even a loss by the [[San Francisco 49ers]] at [[Super Bowl LIV]], discouraging celebrations.<ref name="NYT Arango" /><ref name="Merc Vongs" />

{{As of|2020|5|26|df=US}}, the nine counties of the Bay Area plus [[Santa Cruz County, California|Santa Cruz County]] have reported a cumulative total of 13,060 confirmed cases and 434 confirmed deaths due to COVID-19. [[Alameda County, California|Alameda County]] has more confirmed cases and deaths than any other county in [[Northern California]], followed by Contra Costa County. Some counties have released breakdowns of cases by jurisdiction.<ref name="Merc Armstrong Rowan">{{cite news|title=Bay Area coronavirus map: 13,060 cases, 434 deaths, in 10 counties|first1=Alejandra|last1=Armstrong|first2=Harriet Blair|last2=Rowan|work=[[The Mercury News]]|location=San Jose, California|date=May 26, 2020|access-date=May 27, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/04/map-coronavirus-cases-in-the-bay-area/}}</ref> In Alameda County, [[Hayward, California|Hayward]] has the highest per capita rate of infection at 270.2 people per every 100,000, while [[Oakland, California|Oakland]] has the highest number of cases. [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]] and [[San Jose, California|San Jose]] have the highest number of cases in [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo]] and Santa Clara counties, respectively.<ref name="Merc Webeck Hurd">{{cite news|title=Positive-test rate trending down in Bay Area|first1=Evan|last1=Webeck|first2=Rick|last2=Hurd|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 11, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/11/coronavirus-another-death-in-san-francisco-as-bay-area-sees-modest-rise-in-cases/}}</ref>

{{As of|2020|5|17|df=US}}, the [[North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)|North Bay]] counties of [[Marin County, California|Marin]], [[Napa County, California|Napa]], and [[Sonoma County, California|Sonoma]] have reported a cumulative total of {{#expr: 185+32+128 }} recoveries from COVID-19. The other Bay Area counties do not report the number of recoveries, because tracking this number requires more resources per case and federal guidelines are not specific enough to draw conclusions. A study at the [[University of California, San Francisco]] (UCSF), is tracking outcomes several months after infection.<ref name="Chron Hwang recoveries">{{cite news|title='Most ignored' metric: Why coronavirus recoveries aren't being reported across Bay Area|first=Kellie|last=Hwang|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=May 4, 2020|access-date=May 4, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/How-many-recovered-from-coronavirus-in-Bay-Area-15243715.php}}</ref>

The Hispanic population in the Bay Area has been disproportionately affected by infections. The poor, largely Latino neighborhoods in [[East San Jose]] account for 34% of Santa Clara County's first deaths due to COVID-19 despite being Latinos making up only 23% of the adult population. Almost 70% of the neighborhoods' working-age population is unable to [[remote work]].<ref name="Merc Castañeda">{{cite news|title=The four San Jose ZIP codes with the most coronavirus deaths|first1=Leonardo|last1=Castañeda|first2=David|last2=Debolt|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 10, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/10/coronavirus-deaths-east-san-jose-poor/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=San Jose Latinos leaders push city on high COVID death rates|first=Maggie|last=Angst|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 14, 2020|access-date=May 14, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/14/im-really-disappointed-san-joses-latino-leaders-decry-disproportionate-deaths-of-minority-residents/}}</ref> [[Filipino Americans]] in the Bay Area have also been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 infections, and make up the majority of cases in [[San Mateo County, California]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/Bay-Area-Filipinos-work-the-dangerous-front-lines-15370537.php#photo-19606686|title=Bay Area Filipinos work dangerous front lines of coronavirus fight|date=June 27, 2020}}</ref> In [[San Francisco]], about 40% of Hispanics have been confirmed infected, compared to 15% of the general population. The largely Latino [[Mission District, San Francisco|Mission District]] has the highest number of cases of any neighborhood, with more than 40 cases per 10,000 residents.<ref name="Merc Webeck Hurd" /> UCSF systematically tested 2,959 residents in a 16-block [[census tract]] in the Mission District in April, finding that 2% tested positive. Infection rates differed significantly between [[essential worker]]s and residents who were able to stay at home during the pandemic.<ref>{{cite news|title=Coronavirus testing in SF's Mission District reveals spike among workers|first=Catherine|last=Ho|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=May 7, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Coronavirus-testing-in-SF-s-Mission-district-15246512.php}}</ref>

Localized outbreaks of COVID-19 have occurred at factories and care facilities, including the Tesla factory in Fremont where over 130 people tested positive,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/tesla-has-more-than-130-employees-who-tested-positive-for-coronavirus-report|work=The Mercury News|title=Tesla has more than 130 employees who tested positive for coronavirus: report|date=July 15, 2020|first=Ethan|last=Barron}}</ref> the Lusamerica Foods fish packing plant in [[Morgan Hill, California|Morgan Hill]] where 38 people tested positive,<ref name="Merc Crowley Rogers" /> the Central Gardens skilled nursing home in San Francisco's [[Western Addition, San Francisco|Western Addition]] where four residents died,<ref>{{cite news|title=Four die at San Francisco nursing home battling a large outbreak|first=Sarah|last=Ravani|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=April 23, 2020|access-date=May 26, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Four-die-at-San-Francisco-nursing-home-battling-a-15219979.php}}</ref> and the Windsor Vallejo Care Center in [[Vallejo, California|Vallejo]] where more than 130 people became infected and eleven residents died.<ref>{{cite news|title=Eleven residents dead in Vallejo nursing home outbreak, more than 130 infected|first=Anna|last=Bauman|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 18, 2020|access-date=May 26, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Eleven-residents-dead-in-Vallejo-nursing-home-15279262.php}}</ref>

The number of confirmed cases is believed to fall significantly short of actual infection rates due to limited testing capacity throughout the pandemic.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bay Area tops 13,000 coronavirus cases|first=Eric|last=Ting|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 27, 2020|access-date=May 27, 2020|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/editorspicks/article/Bay-Area-coronavirus-cases-new-increase-COVID-rise-15298296.php}}</ref> {{As of|2020|5|20|df=US}}, San Francisco has collected 5,000 tests for every 100,000 residents, while Santa Clara County has collected about 2,600 tests for every 100,000 residents. Santa Clara County set up three testing sites in San Jose, but the sites are operating well below capacity, in part because of Spanish- and Vietnamese-language barriers.<ref>{{cite news|title=Santa Clara County's coronavirus testing sites below capacity as not enough people know they exist|first=Fiona|last=Kelliher|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 20, 2020|access-date=May 26, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/20/santa-clara-countys-coronavirus-testing-sites-below-capacity-as-not-enough-people-know-they-exist/}}</ref>

Several local studies have attempted to determine [[seroprevalence]] in the absence of widespread clinical testing. Based on [[serology test]]s in early April, a revised [[preprint]] study from [[Stanford University]] estimated that Santa Clara County up to 54,000 residents, or 2.8% of the population, had been infected, compared to the 1,000 confirmed cases at the time. In an earlier preprint, the study's authors had estimated an even higher rate of infection but therefore calculated a lower mortality rate. Despite academic controversy over the study's methodology, which prompted the revision, the preprint fueled [[2020 United States anti-lockdown protests|opposition to stay-at-home orders in the United States]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Infections in Santa Clara County than tests show|first=Lisa M.|last=Krieger|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 11, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/11/coronavirus-revised-stanford-estimate-says-santa-clara-county-had-54-times-more-cases-than-we-knew-about/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Why experts are questioning two hyped antibody studies in coronavirus hotspots|first=Erin|last=McCormick|work=[[The Guardian]]|location=London|date=April 23, 2020|access-date=May 14, 2020|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/23/coronavirus-antibody-studies-california-stanford}}</ref><ref name="Merc Krieger">{{cite news|title=Stanford coronavirus study triggers feud over methodology and motives|first=Lisa M.|last=Krieger|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=April 20, 2020|access-date=May 20, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/20/feud-over-stanford-coronavirus-study-the-authors-owe-us-all-an-apology/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Coronavirus isn't as fatal as we thought|first=Lisa M.|last=Krieger|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 20, 2020|access-date=May 20, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/20/stanford-researcher-says-coronavirus-isnt-as-fatal-as-we-thought-critics-say-hes-missing-the-point/}}</ref> The university has begun an investigation into the study.<ref>{{cite news|title=Did politically-motivated Stanford scientists hype study?|first=Lisa M.|last=Krieger|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 24, 2020|access-date=May 24, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/24/coronavirus-research-stanford-scientists-accused-of-hyping-covid-19-antibody-study/}}</ref> In addition to its study in San Francisco's Mission District, UCSF is conducting a similar study of all 1,680 residents in the rural community of [[Bolinas, California|Bolinas]], and the [[University of California, Berkeley]], is testing a representative sample of 5,000 [[East Bay]] residents.<ref name="Merc Krieger" />

In October 2020, Santa Clara County began [[Wastewater-based epidemiology|wastewater surveillance]] of the [[Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2|SARS-CoV-2]] virus's RNA at the [[San José–Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility]] and three other regional wastewater treatment plants in [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]], [[Sunnyvale, California|Sunnyvale]], and [[Gilroy, California|Gilroy]], which together serve the vast majority of residents in the county.<ref>{{cite web|title=SARS-CoV-2 Sewage Monitoring Data|publisher=Santa Clara County Public Health Department|access-date=July 27, 2021|url=https://covid19.sccgov.org/dashboard-wastewater}}</ref>

==Progression==
[[File:Billboard in San Carlos - donate PPE.jpg|thumb|right|A billboard along [[U.S. Route 101 in California|U.S. Route 101]] in [[San Carlos, California|San Carlos]] encourages [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo County]] residents to donate [[personal protective equipment]] to healthcare workers.]]

===Early cases===
There has been speculation that COVID-19 may have been circulating in the Bay Area by December 2019. Ongoing "lookback studies" are attempting to identify the [[index case]]. An initial preprint of a study at [[Stanford University Medical Center]] has found no infected samples from November and December 2019.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stanford finds no COVID-19 infections in 2019 swabs|first=Lisa M.|last=Krieger|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 19, 2020|access-date=May 24, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/19/coronavirus-stanford-finds-no-covid-19-infections-in-2019-swabs/}}</ref> {{As of|2021|02|14|df=US}}, the earliest known cases in [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]] have been dated to January 27, 2020.<ref name="SCCPHD cases by date" />

On January 31, 2020, the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC) announced the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the Bay Area and the seventh in the United States, a man in Santa Clara County who had recently traveled to [[Wuhan]].<ref name="CNBC Lovelace">{{cite news|title=CDC officials confirm 7th US case of coronavirus, in California man who traveled to China| first1=Berkeley Jr. |last1=Lovelace|first2=William|last2=Feuer|publisher=[[CNBC]]|date=January 31, 2020|access-date=January 31, 2020|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/31/california-and-cdc-officials-confirm-7th-case-of-coronavirus-in-the-us.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201021201/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/31/california-and-cdc-officials-confirm-7th-case-of-coronavirus-in-the-us.html|archive-date=February 1, 2020}}</ref> The man recovered at home and was released from in-home isolation on February 20.<ref name="Merc Woolfolk">{{cite news|title=Santa Clara County declares its first coronavirus case fully recovered|first=John|last=Woolfolk|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=February 20, 2020|access-date=February 20, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/02/20/santa-clara-county-declares-first-coronavirus-case-fully-recovered/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221022130/https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/02/20/santa-clara-county-declares-first-coronavirus-case-fully-recovered/|archive-date=February 21, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> On February 2, the CDC confirmed a second area case in a Santa Clara County woman who had also recently traveled to Wuhan. The two cases were unrelated.<ref name="Reuters">{{cite news|title=Ninth case of fast-moving coronavirus confirmed in U.S.|date=February 2, 2020|work=[[Reuters]]|access-date=February 3, 2020|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-health-usa-california-idUKKBN1ZX01P|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203011127/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-health-usa-california-idUKKBN1ZX01P|archive-date=February 3, 2020}}</ref>

On February 6, 2020, 57-year-old Patricia Dowd of [[San Jose, California|San Jose]] died of COVID-19 without any known recent foreign travel. She had been unusually sick from the flu in late January, then recovered, [[remote work]]ed, and suddenly died at home on February 6. A February 7 autopsy<ref name=dowdautopsy>{{cite web| url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/file/607/2/6072-Dowd_Patricia_Cabello_-_Autopsy.pdf |title=Report of Autopsy, Case #20-00436 |publisher=County of Santa Clara, Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner |author=Susan J. Parson |date=April 23, 2020 |via=San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref> was completed in April (after virus tests on tissue samples) and attributed the death to transmural [[myocardial ischemia]] ([[Myocardial infarction|infarction]]) with a minor component of [[myocarditis]] due to COVID-19 infection.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Exclusive-Autopsy-report-of-first-known-15226422.php|title=Exclusive: Coronavirus caused heart to rupture in nation's first known victim, autopsy shows |last1=Gafni |first1=Matthias |last2=Tucker |first2=Jill |date=2020-04-26|website=SFChronicle.com|language=en-US|df=mdy-all |access-date=2020-04-27}}</ref> Her case was discovered in April 2020; from then until August 2021, she was considered to have been the first COVID-19-related death in the U.S.<ref>{{cite news|title=First U.S. COVID deaths earlier -- and in different places -- than previously thought|first=Harriet Blair|last=Rowan|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=August 22, 2021|access-date=September 9, 2021|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/08/22/exclusive-first-u-s-covid-deaths-came-earlier-and-in-different-places-than-previously-thought/}}</ref> It indicated that community transmission was happening undetected in the U.S., most likely since December 2019.<ref name=sfchron22apr>{{cite news |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/First-known-U-S-coronavirus-death-occurred-on-15217316.php |date=April 22, 2020 |author1=Erin Allday |author2=Matt Kawahara |publisher=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |title=First known U.S. coronavirus death occurred on Feb. 6 in Santa Clara County |access-date=May 14, 2020}}</ref><ref name=latimes21apr>{{cite news |title=Autopsies reveal first confirmed U.S. coronavirus-related deaths occurred in California in February |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-21/autopsies-reveal-first-confirmed-u-s-coronavirus-deaths-occurred-in-bay-area-in-early-february |date=April 21, 2020 |author1=Matt Hamilton |author2=Paige St. John |author3=Rong-Gong Lin II |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=May 14, 2020}}</ref><ref name=latimes22apr>{{cite news |title=A healthy woman suddenly died. She was the first known coronavirus-related fatality in the U.S. |author1=Matt Hamilton |author2=Paige St. John |date=April 22, 2020 |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-22/coronavirus-first-known-fatality-us-california |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=May 14, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Autopsy Reports Date First COVID-19 Bay Area Deaths to February |url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/south-bay/autopsies-date-first-covid-19-bay-area-deaths-to-february/2277106/ |access-date=22 April 2020 |agency=NBC Bay Area |date=April 21, 2020}}</ref>

On February 26, 2020, a case of unknown origin was confirmed in a resident of [[Solano County, California|Solano County]].<ref name="KGO Barnard">{{cite news|title=Coronavirus: New case confirmed in Northern California, origin unknown|first=Cornell|last=Barnard|publisher=[[KGO-TV]]|date=February 26, 2020|access-date=February 26, 2020|url=https://abc7.com/health/coronavirus-new-case-confirmed-in-northern-california-origin-unknown/5970072|language=en}}</ref><ref name="SacBee Smith">{{cite news|title=First U.S. coronavirus case of unknown origin confirmed in Northern California, CDC says|first1=Darrell|last1=Smith|first2=Cathie|last2=Anderson|work=[[The Sacramento Bee]]|date=February 26, 2020|access-date=February 26, 2020|url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and-medicine/article240674471.html}}</ref> The [[UC Davis Medical Center]] in [[Sacramento]] said that, when the person was transferred there on February 19, the medical team suspected it was COVID-19 and asked the CDC to test for SARS-CoV-2. The CDC initially refused since the person, who had no known exposure to the virus through travel or close contact with a known infected individual, did not meet the criteria for testing. The person was ultimately tested on February 23; the test results returned positive on February 26.<ref>{{cite news|title=Newly diagnosed coronavirus patient being treated at UC Davis Medical Center|first=Anne|last=Ternus-Bellamy|work=[[The Davis Enterprise]]|location=Davis, California|date=February 26, 2020|access-date=February 26, 2020|url=https://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/newly-diagnosed-coronavirus-patient-being-treated-at-uc-davis-medical-center/|language=en}}</ref>

After this first case of community transmission in the U.S.,<ref name="CDPH community">{{cite press release|title=CDC Confirms Possible First Instance of COVID-19 Community Transmission in California|publisher=[[California Department of Public Health]]|date=February 26, 2020|url=https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/NR20-006.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228203724/https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/OPA/Pages/NR20-006.aspx|archive-date=February 28, 2020}}</ref> the CDC revised its criteria for testing patients for SARS-CoV-2 and, on February 28, began sending out the new guidelines for healthcare workers.<ref name="CNN Moon">{{cite news|title=After CDC confirms the first US coronavirus case of 'unknown' origin, it sends out new testing guidelines|first1=Sarah|last1=Moon|first2=Holly|last2=Yan|first3=Jen|last3=Christensen|first4=Christina|last4=Maxouris|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=February 28, 2020|access-date=February 28, 2020|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/27/health/us-cases-coronavirus-community-transmission/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228020534/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/27/health/us-cases-coronavirus-community-transmission/index.html|archive-date=February 28, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=CDC Guidance. Evaluating and Testing PUI.|url=https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/hcp/clinical-criteria.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131050944/https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/hcp/clinical-criteria.html|archive-date=January 31, 2020}} Section: Recommendations for Reporting, Testing, and Specimen Collection.</ref>

The first case of the [[SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant|Omicron variant]] detected in the United States was also located in the Bay Area. A resident of San Francisco returned from [[South Africa]] on November 22, 2021, began showing mild symptoms on November 25, and was confirmed to have COVID-19 on November 29. The individual had been vaccinated but had not received a booster shot.<ref>{{cite news|title=First case of omicron in US identified in San Francisco|first=Amy|last=Graff|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=December 1, 2021|access-date=December 1, 2021|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/omicron-San-Francisco-first-case-in-US-COVID-16666494.php}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=First U.S. Case of Omicron Variant Found in San Francisco Resident|first1=Kevin|last1=Stark|first2=Joe Fitzgerald|last2=Rodriguez|first3=Raquel Marial|last3=Dillon|publisher=[[KQED Inc.|KQED]]|location=San Francisco|date=1 December 2021|access-date=1 December 2021|url=https://www.kqed.org/science/1977807/first-u-s-case-of-omicron-variant-found-in-california}}</ref>

<!--===Cases by county over time===
{{Graph:Lines
| table=COVID-19 cases in Alameda County, California.tab
| series="AC_CumulCases","AC_CumulDeaths"
| legend=-
| type=time
| xField=date
| yZero=false
| title=COVID-19 cases in Alameda County, California
| width=800
| yGrid=y
}}

{{Graph:Lines
| table=COVID-19 cases in Contra Costa County, California.tab
| series="totalConfirmedCases","deaths"
| legend=-
| type=time
| xField=date
| yZero=false
| title=COVID-19 cases in Contra Costa County, California
| width=800
| yGrid=y
}}

{{Graph:Lines
| table=COVID-19 cases in Marin County, California.tab
| series="totalConfirmedCases","deaths"
| legend=-
| type=time
| xField=date
| yZero=false
| title=COVID-19 cases in Marin County, California
| width=800
| yGrid=y
}}

{{Graph:Lines
| table=COVID-19 cases in Napa County, California.tab
| series="totalConfirmedCases","deaths"
| legend=-
| type=time
| xField=date
| yZero=false
| title=COVID-19 cases in Napa County, California
| width=800
| yGrid=y
}}

{{Graph:Lines
| table=COVID-19 cases in San Francisco.tab
| series="totalConfirmedCases","totalDeaths"
| legend=-
| type=time
| xField=date
| yZero=false
| title=COVID-19 cases in San Francisco
| width=800
| yGrid=y
}}

{{Graph:Lines
| table=COVID-19 cases in San Mateo County, California.tab
| series="totalConfirmedCases","deaths"
| legend=-
| type=time
| xField=date
| yZero=false
| title=COVID-19 cases in San Mateo County, California
| width=800
| yGrid=y
}}

<!-- {{Graph:Lines
| table=COVID-19 cases in Santa Clara County, California.tab
| series="cases","deaths"
| legend=-
| type=time
| xField=date
| yZero=false
| title=COVID-19 cases in Santa Clara County, California
| width=800
| yGrid=y
}} -->
<!--{{COVID-19 pandemic data/United States/California/Santa Clara County medical cases chart}}

{{Graph:Lines
| table=COVID-19 cases in Solano County, California.tab
| series="totalConfirmedCases","deaths",
| legend=-
| type=time
| xField=date
| yZero=false
| title=COVID-19 cases in Solano County, California
| width=800
| yGrid=y
}}

{{Graph:Lines
| table=COVID-19 cases in Sonoma County, California.tab
| series="totalConfirmedCases","deaths",
| legend=-
| type=time
| xField=date
| yZero=false
| title=COVID-19 cases in Sonoma County, California
| width=800
| yGrid=y
}}
-->

==Government response==
{{further|California government response to the COVID-19 pandemic}}
{{multiple issues|section=yes|
{{update section|date=March 2021}}
{{expand section|date=October 2020}}
{{more citations needed|section|date=October 2020}}
{{cleanup|section|date=October 2022|reason=[[WP:INDISCRIMINATE]]}}
}}
[[File:COVID-19 Santa Clara County shelter-in-place order notification.png|thumb|right|A public safety alert sent on March 16 by Santa Clara County about the shelter-in-place order]]
[[File:COVID-19 cases (projected) in Santa Clara County, California.pdf|thumb|right|As of April 7, the [[Santa Clara County Public Health Department]] and [[Stanford University School of Medicine]] projected that the county would have had several times more cases of COVID-19 by May without the regional and state shelter-in-place orders.]]
[[File:Memorial Day 2020 - San Francisco Under Quarantine (49936445142).jpg|thumb|right|Market Street, San Francisco, on Memorial Day 2020]]
The Bay Area public health response to the pandemic is being coordinated through the Association of Bay Area Health Officers (ABAHO), an organization consisting of the public health officers of 11 counties and two cities that was established in the 1980s to fight the [[HIV/AIDS in the United States|AIDS epidemic]] in San Francisco.<ref>{{cite news|author=Rodriguez, OR|title=Fast decisions in Bay Area helped slow virus spread|publisher=AP News|work=Associated Press|date=April 19, 2020|access-date=September 4, 2020|url=https://apnews.com/10c4e38a0d2241daf29a6cd69d8d7b43}}</ref><ref name="LAT Hart">{{cite news|title=How Bay Area health officers got ahead of coronavirus|first1=Angela|last1=Hart|first2=Anna Maria|last2=Barry-Jester|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=April 21, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-21/how-bay-area-health-officers-got-ahead-of-coronavirus|archive-date=April 21, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421164212/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-04-21/how-bay-area-health-officers-got-ahead-of-coronavirus}}</ref> The health officers act in unison to avoid political pushback. ABAHO is informally divided between the "Big Seven", consisting of [[Alameda County, California|Alameda]], [[Contra Costa County, California|Contra Costa]], [[Marin County, California|Marin]], [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo]], and [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara]] counties and the cities of [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]] and [[San Francisco]]; and [[Santa Cruz County, California|Santa Cruz]], [[Monterey County, California|Monterey]], [[Napa County, California|Napa]], [[San Benito County, California|San Benito]], [[Sonoma County, California|Sonoma]], and [[Solano County, California|Solano]] counties on the periphery of the Bay Area.<ref name="LAT Hart" />

Unlike the shelter-in-place order, orders to wear face coverings such as [[cloth face masks]] while in public took effect at different times depending on the jurisdiction.

<!-- What to add here:
- Advancement of counties in state reopening plans
- County or city government reopening plans
- Reopening of notable institutions or buildings which have their own article
- Reopening of public school districts
-->

===2020===
*'''February 10''': [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]] declares a [[State of emergency#United States|local health emergency]]. At the time, there were two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county and no known [[community transmission]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Santa Clara County Declares Local Health Emergency Amid Coronavirus|first1=Diana|last1=San Juan|first2=Ian|last2=Cull|publisher=KNTV|date=February 10, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/south-bay/santa-clara-county-declares-local-health-emergency-amid-novel-coronavirus/2231584/}}</ref>
*'''February 25''': [[San Francisco]] Mayor [[London Breed]] declares a state of emergency that would allow city officials to assemble resources and personnel to expedite emergency measures in the event of a potential coronavirus case in the city.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/484602-san-francisco-declares-state-of-emergency-over-coronavirus | title = San Francisco declares state of emergency over coronavirus | last = Axelrod | first = Tal | date=February 25, 2020 | website = TheHill | language = en | access-date=February 26, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/02/26/coronavirus-san-francisco-emergency-face-masks-brazil-south-korea/4878620002/ | title = San Francisco, Orange County declare coronavirus health emergencies | last = Ortiz | first = John Bacon and Jorge L. | website = USA TODAY | language = en-US | access-date=February 26, 2020}}</ref>
*'''February 27''': Solano County declares a local health emergency to bolster response to COVID-19 cases.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2020/02/27/solano-county-local-emergency-coronavirus/ | title = Solano County Declares Local Emergency To Bolster Coronavirus Response | date=February 27, 2020 | language = en-US | access-date=February 28, 2020}}</ref>
*'''March 9''': Santa Clara County bans public gatherings of more than 1,000 people. Over the next few days, the county expands the bans to cover all gatherings, from [[San Jose Sharks]] games to library story hours, and closes all bars and pubs.<ref name = cody>{{cite news|title=Meet the doctor who ordered the Bay Area's coronavirus lockdown, the first in the U.S.|first=Julia Prodis|last=Sulek|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=March 29, 2020|access-date=April 13, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/29/she-shut-down-the-bay-area-to-slow-the-deadly-coronavirus-none-of-us-really-believed-we-would-do-it/}}</ref>
*'''March 16''': The "Big Seven" public health departments issued a joint [[Stay-at-home order|shelter-in-place order]], legally requiring all non-essential businesses to close and residents to stay at home except for essential needs, effective March 17.<ref>{{cite news|title=San Francisco Bay Area counties issue shelter-in-place order|first=Janie|last=Har|work=[[Associated Press]]|date=March 15, 2020|access-date=13 April 2020|url=https://apnews.com/a342998638cdccb56172a1663e8d6edf}}</ref> It was the first such order in the mainland United States, coming a day after [[Puerto Rico]] went into lockdown.<ref>{{cite news|title=Experts say the San Francisco Bay Area's early social distancing call may have saved the region from a fate similar to New York's|first=Katy|last=Canales|work=[[Business Insider]]|date=April 1, 2020|access-date=April 13, 2020|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/san-francisco-bay-area-shelter-in-place-experts-coronavirus-working-2020-3}}</ref><ref name="LAT Hart" />
*'''March 17''': The March 16 stay-at-home order is adopted by the remaining Bay Area county health departments.<ref name="LAT Hart" /> Santa Clara County has enforced its shelter-in-place order with one of the strictest interpretations in the state.<ref>{{cite news|title=For Those Who Must Enforce Coronavirus Lockdowns in California, the Decisions Are Wrenching|first1=Katey|last1=Rusch|first2=Casey|last2=Smith|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 11, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/us/coronavirus-california-lockdowns.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511091156/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/us/coronavirus-california-lockdowns.html|archive-date=May 11, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> The orders were timed to preempt [[Saint Patrick's Day]] celebrations.<ref name="LAT Hart" />
*'''March 30''': The "Big Seven" health officers extend the shelter-in-place order to May 3,<ref name="Merc Kelliher">{{cite news|title=Coronavirus: Bay Area shelter-in-place extended through May 3 with new restrictions|first1=Fiona|last1=Kelliher|first2=Maggie|last2=Angst|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=March 31, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/31/coronavirus-bay-area-shelter-in-place-extended-through-may-3-with-new-restrictions/|access-date=April 1, 2020|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200331211305/https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/31/coronavirus-bay-area-shelter-in-place-extended-through-may-3-with-new-restrictions/|archive-date=March 31, 2020}}</ref> easing some restrictions on outdoor activity.<ref>{{cite news|title=Check: Has COVID-19 Closed Your Bay Area Park?|first1=Molly|last1=Peterson|first2=Michelle|last2=Wiley|publisher=[[KQED Inc.|KQED]]|date=March 25, 2020|access-date=May 12, 2020|url=https://www.kqed.org/news/11808351/check-has-covid-19-closed-your-bay-area-park}}</ref>
*'''April 13''': Sonoma County issues a mask mandate effective April 17.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mask requirement coming to Bay Area counties|first1=John|last1=Woolfolk|first2=Emily|last2=DeRuy|first3=Evan|last3=Webeck|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=April 17, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/17/coronavirus-some-bay-area-counties-will-require-face-coverings-masks-in-public-health-officer-says/}}</ref>
*'''April 15''': [[Fremont, California|Fremont]] issues a mask mandate effective immediately.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fremont requires masks worn at many essential businesses|first=Joseph|last=Geha|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=April 16, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/16/coronavirus-fremont-requires-masks-worn-at-all-essential-businesses/}}</ref>
*'''April 17''': Santa Clara County issues a mask advisory. The county refrained from issuing a mandate in order to avoid adding to police departments' enforcement responsibilities.<ref>{{cite press release|title=County of Santa Clara Public Health Department Issues Guidance on Face Coverings|publisher=County of Santa Clara Public Health Department|date=April 17, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/press-release-04-17-2020-guidance-face-coverings.aspx}}</ref><ref name="Merc Salonga">{{cite news|title=Santa Clara courts, Palo Alto now require masks|first=Robert|last=Salonga|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 13, 2020|access-date=May 13, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/13/coronavirus-santa-clara-county-courts-palo-alto-issue-face-mask-requirements/}}</ref>
*'''April 22''': Mask mandates take effect in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bay Area mask order begins Wednesday: What you need to know|first=Evan|last=Webeck|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=April 22, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/22/coronavirus-bay-area-mask-order-takes-effect-wednesday-heres-what-you-need-to-know/}}</ref>
*'''April 24''': Mask mandates take effect in [[Milpitas, California|Milpitas]] and [[Cupertino]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Milpitas issues mask order, first in Santa Clara County|first=Evan|last=Webeck|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=April 24, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/24/coronavirus-milpitas-becomes-first-in-santa-clara-county-to-issue-mask-order-joining-rest-of-bay-area/}}</ref>
*'''April 29''': The shelter-in-place order is extended again to May 31.<ref name="KRON Asperin">{{cite news|title=Here are the Bay Area's revised shelter-in-place orders effective May 4|first1=Alexa Mae|last1=Asperin|first2=Rob|last2=Fladeboe|publisher=[[KRON-TV]]|date=April 29, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/bay-areas-new-shelter-in-place-order-to-allow-construction-some-outdoor-activities/|archive-date=June 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200605133859/https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/bay-areas-new-shelter-in-place-order-to-allow-construction-some-outdoor-activities/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*'''May 4''': Santa Clara County issues a mask mandate for businesses.<ref>{{cite web|title=Learn What to Do|publisher=[[Santa Clara County Public Health Department]]|date=May 10, 2020|access-date=May 17, 2020|url=https://www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/learn-what-to-do.aspx#howto|archive-date=June 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610182355/https://www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/learn-what-to-do.aspx#howto|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]] issued a face mask order on May 13.<ref name="Merc Salonga" />
*'''May 7''': The Big Cities Health Coalition estimates that the Bay Area's shelter-in-place orders prevented 188,000 hospitalizations and 19,000 deaths in Santa Clara County, Alameda County, and San Francisco.<ref name="Merc Vongs">{{cite news|title=Bay Area stay-at-home orders saved lives: chart|first=Pueng|last=Vongs|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 12, 2020|access-date=May 14, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/12/chart-how-many-bay-area-coronavirus-deaths-did-stay-at-home-orders-possibly-prevent/}}</ref>
*'''May 14''': [[San Benito County, California|San Benito County]] meets the [[California Department of Public Health]]'s criteria to resume dine-in service at restaurants as part of phase 2 of Governor [[Gavin Newsom]]'s statewide reopening plan.<ref>{{cite news|title=18 California counties get green light to reopen|first=Evan|last=Webeck|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 14, 2020|access-date=May 14, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/14/coronavirus-county-near-bay-area-among-18-to-get-go-ahead-on-phase-2-reopening/}}</ref>
*'''May 15''': [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo County]] issues a new shelter-in-place order ahead of the Bay Area-wide order that expired on May 31. The county's order allowed nonessential retail and other businesses to offer curbside pickup service. This order, which aligned with phase 2 of the state reopening plan, marked the first departure from the unified front that Bay Area health officials had maintained until then.<ref>{{cite news|title=More restrictions eased in San Mateo County|first=Jon|last=Mays|work=[[San Mateo Daily Journal]]|date=May 15, 2020|access-date=May 18, 2020|url=https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/more-restrictions-eased-in-san-mateo-county/article_df3c1c26-970f-11ea-86c0-e786592a16aa.html}}</ref>
*'''May 18''': Despite initial reservations by [[Contra Costa County, California|Contra Costa]] and [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara]] county health officials, they and their counterparts in [[Alameda County, California|Alameda County]], [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]], [[Marin County, California|Marin County]], and [[San Francisco]] issue a joint order on that implemented phase 2 reopening.<ref>{{cite news|title=All Bay Area counties to allow retail store curbside pickup|first1=Fiona|last1=Kelliher|first2=Robert|last2=Salonga|first3=Maggie|last3=Angst|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 18, 2020|access-date=May 18, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/18/coronavirus-bay-area-counties-to-universally-allow-storefront-retail-pickup-associated-businesses-to-reopen/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=San Mateo County does not join new Bay Area health order|first=Eric|last=Ting|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 18, 2020|access-date=May 18, 2020|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/editorspicks/article/San-Mateo-County-Bay-Area-reopen-health-order-new-15278576.php}}</ref> [[Napa County, California|Napa]], [[Santa Cruz County, California|Santa Cruz]], [[Solano County, California|Solano]], and [[Sonoma County, California|Sonoma]] counties were also moving forward with phase 2.<ref>{{cite news|title=These Bay Area counties are easing lockdowns|first1=Nico|last1=Savidge|first2=Fiona|last2=Kelliher|first3=Annie|last3=Sciacca|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 13, 2020|access-date=May 14, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/13/coronavirus-once-unified-bay-area-fractures-on-loosening-lockdowns/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Bay Area businesses anticipate reopening in state's Phase 2 plan|first=Elliott|last=Almond|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 17, 2020|access-date=May 17, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/17/sighs-of-relief-and-hope-as-more-bay-area-businesses-prepare-to-reopen/}}</ref>
*'''May 26''': Napa, San Benito, Solano, and Sonoma Counties begin allowing hair salons and barbershops to reopen.<ref name="Merc Crowley Rogers">{{cite news|title=Hair salons can reopen in most of California|first1=Kerry|last1=Crowley|first2=Paul|last2=Rogers|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 26, 2020|access-date=May 26, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/26/gov-newsom-hair-salons-barbershops-can-reopen-but-not-in-all-bay-area-counties/}}</ref>
*'''July 13''': The [[San Francisco Zoo]] reopens to members with reservations required.
*'''July 14''': University of California-Berkeley Botanical Gardens reopens to members with reservations required.
*'''July 15''': The [[San Francisco Zoo]] reopens to the general public with reservations required.<ref>{{Cite web|title=San Francisco Zoo|url=http://www.sfzoo.org/|access-date=2020-07-11|website=www.sfzoo.org}}</ref>
*'''July 22''': University of California-Berkeley Botanical Gardens reopens to the general public with reservations required.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Reopening During COVID|url=https://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/covid-reopen|access-date=2020-07-11|website=UC Botanical Garden|language=en-US|archive-date=July 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712040529/https://botanicalgarden.berkeley.edu/covid-reopen|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*'''August 31''': The statewide Blueprint for a Safer Economy reopening plan comes into effect. Napa and San Francisco Counties are at Substantial, while all other Bay Area counties are at Widespread.
** Napa County directly follows the state's reopening guidelines.
** San Francisco delays the reopening of businesses.<ref name=sf-reopen>{{cite web|url=https://sf.gov/step-by-step/reopening-san-francisco|title=Reopening San Francisco|website=sf.gov}}</ref>
*'''September 1''': San Francisco allows personal care services and indoor malls to reopen.
*'''September 8''': Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties are upgraded from Widespread to Substantial. Both counties directly follow the state's reopening guidelines.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/business-guidance.aspx|access-date=October 8, 2020|title=Businesses and Workplaces|publisher=County of Santa Clara}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.santacruzcounty.us/Portals/0/County/CAO/press%20releases/2020/SantaCruzCountyRedTier090820.pdf|date=September 8, 2020|publisher=County of Santa Cruz|title=Santa Cruz County moves to Red Tier}}</ref>
*'''September 14''': San Francisco allows indoor nail salons, piercing shops, tattoo parlors, and indoor fitness/dance/yoga studios to reopen.
*'''September 15''': Marin County is upgraded from Widespread to Substantial. The county directly follows the state's reopening guidelines.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://coronavirus.marinhhs.org/covid-19-status-update-09152020|title=COVID-19 Status Update for 09/15/2020|date=September 15, 2020|publisher=Marin County Health and Human Services|access-date=October 6, 2020}}</ref>
*'''September 21''': San Francisco allows museums/zoos/aquariums and elementary schools to reopen. Elementary schools in [[San Francisco Unified School District]] remain closed.
*'''September 22''':
** Alameda, San Mateo, and Solano Counties are upgraded from Widespread to Substantial.
*** Alameda County delays the reopening of businesses.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://covid-19.acgov.org/covid19-assets/docs/reopen/reopening-next-phase-2020.10.01.pdf|title=Alameda County Reopening Plan Updates 10.1.20|date=October 1, 2020|access-date=October 5, 2020|publisher=Alameda County Public Health Department|archive-date=October 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201009041348/https://covid-19.acgov.org/covid19-assets/docs/reopen/reopening-next-phase-2020.10.01.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*** San Mateo and Solano Counties directly follow the state's reopening guildines.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smchealth.org/coronavirus|title=Coronavirus|date=April 27, 2016 |publisher=San Mateo County Health|access-date=October 5, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.solanocounty.com/depts/ph/coronavirus_links/roadmap_to_recovery.asp|title=Roadmap to Recovery|publisher=County of Solano|access-date=October 5, 2020}}</ref>
** The [[de Young Museum]] reopens to members with reservations required. The de Young Observation Level, Coat Check, de Youngsters Studio, and Piazzoni Murals Room remain closed.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-06-24|title=Welcome Back|url=https://deyoung.famsf.org/welcome-back|access-date=2020-09-15|website=de Young|language=en|archive-date=September 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200915175718/https://deyoung.famsf.org/welcome-back|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*'''September 25''':
** The [[de Young Museum]] reopens to the general public with reservations required. The de Young Observation Level, Coat Check, de Youngsters Studio, and Piazzoni Murals Room remain closed.
** Alameda County allows nail salons to reopen. Nail salons have since been allowed to reopen statewide.
*'''September 29''':
** San Francisco County is upgraded from Substantial to Moderate. The reopening of businesses is delayed.
** Contra Costa County is upgraded from Widespread to Substantial. The county directly follows the state's reopening guidelines.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cchealth.org/press-releases/2020/0929-More-Businesses-and-Services-Can-Reopen.php|date=September 29, 2020|title=More Businesses and Services Can Reopen in Contra Costa Thanks to Improving COVID Situation|publisher=Contra Costa Health Services|access-date=October 5, 2020}}</ref>
*'''September 30''': San Francisco allows indoor dining and places of worship to reopen.
*'''October 7''': San Francisco allows movie theaters to reopen without concessions.<ref>{{Cite web|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|date=2020-09-30|title=Movie Theaters Reopening Soon In San Francisco, But There's A Catch|url=https://deadline.com/2020/09/san-francisco-movie-theaters-reopening-concessions-ban-coronavirus-covid-19-1234588395/|access-date=2020-10-07|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}</ref>
** The National Association of Theatre Owners of California/Nevada stated that their cinemas in San Francisco would remain closed due to the concessions ban, as it "makes it economically impossible for our members to reopen and significantly limits the moviegoing experience for our audiences."<ref>{{Cite web|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|date=2020-10-07|title=Theatre Owners Agree To Keep San Francisco Cinemas Closed Due To Concessions Ban|url=https://deadline.com/2020/10/san-francisco-movie-theaters-wont-open-concessions-nato-covid-19-1234593091/|access-date=2020-10-07|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}</ref>
*'''October 9''': Alameda County allows museums, zoos, aquariums, personal care services, libraries, fitness/dance/yoga studios, and outdoor film production to reopen.
*'''October 13''':
** Alameda and Santa Clara Counties are upgraded from Substantial to Moderate.
*** Alameda County delays the reopening of businesses.
*** Santa Clara County follows the state's guidelines, with the exception of allowing indoor restaurants to increase their capacity beyond 25%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/order-health-officer-10-05-20.aspx|title=Order of the Health Officer of the County of Santa Clara|date=October 5, 2020|access-date=October 13, 2020}}</ref>
** San Benito County is upgraded from Widespread to Substantial. The county directly follows the state's reopening guidelines.
** Alameda County allows elementary schools to reopen.
** The [[California Academy of Sciences]] in Golden Gate Park reopens to members with reservations required. Exhibits and spaces with a high degree of interactivity or where it is difficult to maintain physical distance remain closed, including the Morrison Planetarium, the Naturalist Center, the Curiosity Grove, and the Discovery Tidepool.<ref name="Welcome Back!">{{Cite web|date=October 2, 2020|title=Welcome Back!|url=https://calacademy.org/reopening|access-date=2020-10-02|website=California Academy of Sciences|language=en}}</ref>
*'''October 20''':
** San Francisco County is upgraded from Moderate to Minimal. The reopening of businesses is delayed.
** Napa County is upgraded from Substantial to Moderate. The county directly follows the state's reopening guidelines.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023172559/https://www.countyofnapa.org/2739/Coronavirus-COVID-19|url=https://www.countyofnapa.org/2739/Coronavirus-COVID-19|archive-date=2020-10-23|website=countyofnapa.org|title=Coronavirus (COVID-19)|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*'''October 22''': The California Academy of Sciences reopens to the general public with reservations required. Exhibits and spaces with a high degree of interactivity or where it is difficult to maintain physical distance remain closed, including the Morrison Planetarium, the Naturalist Center, the Curiosity Grove, and the Discovery Tidepool.<ref name="Welcome Back!"/>
*'''October 23''': Alameda County allows places of worship and cultural ceremonies, indoor dining, movie theaters, bowling alleys, and climbing walls to reopen. The county also allows indoor retailers and shopping centers to expand their capacity from 25% to 50% and fitness/dance/yoga studios to expand their capacity from 10% to 25%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://covid-19.acgov.org/covid19-assets/docs/press/press-release-2020.10.21.pdf|title=Alameda County Permits New Indoor Activities as Case Rates, Testing Positivity and Hospitalizations Remain Stablet|date=October 21, 2020|access-date=October 22, 2020}}</ref>
*'''October 26''': Schools in [[Mountain House Elementary School District]] reopen for Grades TK–6. In-person attendance is only on Monday through Thursday.
*'''October 27''':
** Contra Costa, Marin, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz Counties are upgraded from Substantial to Moderate. All four counties directly follow the state's reopening guidelines.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cchealth.org/press-releases/2020/1027-cchs-reopening-plan.php|date=October 27, 2020|access-date=October 27, 2020|title=Contra Costa County Advances in California's COVID-19 Reopening Plan|publisher=Contra Costa Health Services}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://marinrecovers.com/reopening-status/|access-date=October 27, 2020|title=Reopening Status}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smchealth.org/coronavirus|title=Coronavirus|date=April 27, 2016 |publisher=San Mateo County Health|access-date=October 27, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.santacruzhealth.org/Portals/0/County/CAO/press%20releases/2020/OrangeTier.10272020.pdf|date=October 27, 2020|access-date=October 27, 2020|title=Santa Cruz County Moved to Orange Tier}}</ref>
** San Francisco allows climbing walls and offices of non-essential businesses to reopen. The city also allows fitness/dance/yoga studios to expand their indoor capacity from 10% to 25%.
*'''November 3''': San Francisco allows swimming pools and bowling alleys to reopen. The city also allows places of worship, museums/zoos/aquariums, indoor dining, and movie theaters to expand their indoor capacity from 25% to 50%.
*'''November 9''':
** Alameda County allows middle schools and high schools to reopen.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://covid-19.acgov.org/covid19-assets/docs/press/press-release-2020.10.28.pdf|date=October 28, 2020|access-date=October 28, 2020|title=Alameda County Announces Timeline for Opening Middle and High Schools}}</ref>
** Fremont Christian School reopens for Grades 3–5.
*'''November 10''': Contra Costa and Santa Cruz Counties are downgraded from Moderate to Substantial.
*'''November 16''':
** Alameda, Napa, and Santa Clara Counties are downgraded from Moderate to Widespread.
** San Francisco County is downgraded from Minimal to Substantial.
** Contra Costa, San Benito, Santa Cruz, and Solano Counties are downgraded from Substantial to Widespread.
** Marin and San Mateo Counties are downgraded from Moderate to Substantial.
*'''November 28''': San Francisco and San Mateo Counties are downgraded from Substantial to Widespread.
*'''November 30''': Fremont Christian School reopens for Grades K–2.
*'''December 1''': Schools in [[Piedmont Unified School District]] reopen for Grades K–2.
*'''December 6''':
**'''10:00 p.m.''': Contra Costa, San Francisco, and Santa Clara Counties, as well as the City of Berkeley, preemptively implement the state's December 3 regional stay-at-home order.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.contracosta.ca.gov/DocumentCenter/View/69123/12-4-Bay-Area-Health-Officers-Move-to-Implement-the-States-New-Regional-Stay-Home-Order|date=December 4, 2020|title=Bay Area Health Officers Move to Implement the State's New Regional Stay Home Order, Not Waiting Until Local Hospitals Are Near Crisis to Act|access-date=December 5, 2020}}</ref>
**'''11:59 p.m.''': The regional stay-at-home order goes into effect for the San Joaquin Valley region, which includes San Benito County.
*'''December 7''': Alameda County preemptively implements the state's stay-at-home order.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://covid-19.acgov.org/covid19-assets/docs/press/joint-release-2020.12.04.pdf|publisher=Alameda County Public Health Department|date=December 4, 2020|access-date=December 4, 2020|title=Bay Area Health Officers Move to Implement the State's New Regional Stay Home Order, Not Waiting Until Local Hospitals Are Near Crisis to Act}}</ref>
*'''December 8''':
** Marin County preemptively implements the state's stay-at-home order.
** Marin County is downgraded from Substantial to Widespread.
** Schools in Piedmont Unified School District reopen for Grades 3–5.
*'''December 16''': San Mateo becomes the final Bay Area county to ban outdoor dining
*'''December 17''': '''11:59 p.m.''': The regional stay-at-home order goes into effect for the Bay Area region, which includes all ABAHO counties excluding San Benito County.

===2021===
*'''January 25''': The regional stay-at-home order is lifted statewide.
*'''February 23''': Marin and San Mateo become the first Bay Area counties since early December to leave the purple tier, being upgraded from Widespread to Substantial
*'''March 2''': Napa, San Francisco, and Santa Clara upgraded from Widespread to Substantial
*'''March 9''': Alameda and Solano upgraded from Widespread to Substantial
*'''March 13''': Contra Costa and Sonoma upgraded from Widespread to Substantial
*'''March 16''': San Mateo becomes the first Bay Area county since mid-November to enter the orange tier, being upgraded from Substantial to Moderate
*'''March 23''': Marin, San Francisco, and Santa Clara upgraded from Substantial to Moderate
*'''March 30''': Alameda upgraded from Substantial to Moderate
*'''April 6''': Contra Costa, Napa, and Sonoma upgraded from Substantial to Moderate
*'''May 4''': San Francisco upgraded from Moderate to Minimal
*'''May 11''': San Mateo upgraded from Moderate to Minimal
*'''May 19''': Santa Clara upgraded from Moderate to Minimal
*'''June 1''': Solano upgraded from Substantial to Moderate
*'''June 8''': Alameda and Napa upgraded from Moderate to Minimal
*'''June 15''': BSE system ended statewide.
*'''August 2''': The counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara (as well as the City of Berkeley) re-introduce a mask mandate for all persons regardless of vaccination status.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Mask-mandate-reinstated-in-San-Francisco-Bay-Area-16358110.php|work=SFGate|title=Mask mandate reinstated in San Francisco Bay Area amid surge|first=Jocelyn|last=Gecker|date=August 2, 2021|access-date=August 11, 2021}}</ref>
*'''August 12''': San Francisco becomes the first major city in the U.S. to require proof of vaccination for customers of restaurants, bars, and gyms.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/San-Francisco-to-become-second-U-S-city-to-16382500.php|date=August 12, 2021|access-date=August 12, 2021|work=The San Francisco Chronicle|title=San Francisco to become first major U.S. city to mandate full vaccination for many indoor activities|first=Trisha|last=Thadani}}</ref> <!-- New York City only mandates first dose -->
*'''September 2''': Berkeley announces that it will require proof of vaccination customers of restaurants, bars, and gyms.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/restaurants/article/Berkeley-joins-S-F-in-requiring-proof-of-16431229.php|work=The San Francisco Chronicle|date=September 2, 2021|access-date=September 4, 2021|title=Berkeley joins S.F. in requiring proof of vaccination to dine indoors|first=Janelle|last=Bitker}}</ref>
*'''September 23''': [[Oakland Unified School District]] announces a vaccine mandate for all students aged 12+.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abc7news.com/11039883|title=Oakland Unified School District approves COVID vaccination mandate for students 12 and up|first1=J.R.|last1=Stone|first2=Amy|last2=Hollyfield|date=September 23, 2021|access-date=September 24, 2021}}</ref>
*'''September 29''': Santa Cruz County lifts its indoor mask mandate, effective immediately.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/coronavirus/santa-cruz-county-lifts-indoor-mask-mandate-amid-declining-spread-of-covid-19/2669277/|work=NBC Bay Area|date=September 29, 2021|access-date=September 30, 2021|title=Santa Cruz County Lifts Indoor Mask Mandate Amid Declining Spread of COVID-19}}</ref>
*'''October 7''': San Francisco announces that it will lift its mask mandate, effective October 15, for gatherings of under 100 people where everyone is vaccinated.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/07/world/san-francisco-mask-requirements.html|title=San Francisco will ease some masking requirements for vaccinated people|work=The New York Times|first=Lauren|last=McCarthy|date=October 7, 2021|access-date=October 8, 2021}}</ref>
*'''October 8''': Marin County announces the same modifications to its mask mandate as San Francisco, also effective October 15.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.kron4.com/health/coronavirus/marin-county-to-modify-its-indoor-mask-mandate-oct-15/|title=Marin County to modify its indoor mask mandate Oct. 15|date=October 8, 2021|access-date=October 8, 2021|publisher=KRON4|first=Alexa Mae|last=Asperin}}</ref>
*'''October 13''': San Francisco begins mandating vaccination for workers of restaurants, bars, and gyms.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://abc7news.com/11121898/|publisher=ABC7|title=COVID vaccine mandate deadline for some SF employees|date=October 13, 2021|access-date=October 14, 2021|first=Amy|last=Hollyfield}}</ref>
*'''October 30''': Marin County announces an end to its indoor mask mandate, effective November 1.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2021/10/30/covid-marin-lifting-indoor-mask-mandate-public-places/|title=Marin County Lifting Indoor Mask Mandate In Public Places November 1 – 'Tiptoeing Back Toward Normalcy'|date=October 30, 2021|publisher=KPIX-TV|access-date=October 31, 2021}}</ref>

===2022===
*'''January 12''': Sonoma County institutes a 30-day ban on indoor gatherings of more than 50 people and outdoor gatherings of more than 100 people.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Sonoma-County-s-new-COVID-restrictions-take-16768686.php|title=Sonoma County's new COVID restrictions take effect today. Here's how it's going|first=Kellie|last=Hwang|date=January 12, 2022|access-date=January 12, 2022|work=The San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref>
*'''January 27''': San Francisco announces that it will lift its indoor mask mandate if everyone has received a booster dose of the vaccine, effective February 1.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://sf.gov/news/updates-sfs-covid-19-health-order-includes-changes-indoor-masking-testing-and-vaccination|title=Updates to SF's COVID-19 Health Order includes changes to indoor masking, testing and vaccination requirements|date=January 27, 2022|access-date=January 27, 2022|website=sf.gov}}</ref>
*'''February 20''': [[Point Bonita Lighthouse]], located in the [[Marin Headlands]] near [[Sausalito, California|Sausalito]], resumes tours for the first time after two years of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/point-bonita-lighthouse-reopens-to-public-after-pandemic-closure/ | title=Point Bonita Lighthouse Reopens to Public After Pandemic Closure | website=[[CBS News]] | date=February 20, 2022 }}</ref>

==Military response==
[[File:Federal Medical Station, San Mateo County Event Center (8).jpg|thumb|right|California National Guard staff set up a Federal Medical Station at the San Mateo County Event Center.]]

The [[California National Guard]] and [[California State Guard]] activated medical units in the Bay Area to assist local and state government agencies in their COVID-19 response.

In the Bay Area, the [[California Air National Guard]] has set up Federal Medical Stations at the [[Santa Clara Convention Center]] in [[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]] (known as the Field Respite Center),<ref name="Merc Gartrell">{{cite news|title=SC Convention Center to be converted into medical station|first=Nate|last=Gartrell|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=March 21, 2020|access-date=March 22, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/21/santa-clara-convention-center-to-be-converted-into-temporary-medical-station-for-covid-19/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322104500/https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/21/santa-clara-convention-center-to-be-converted-into-temporary-medical-station-for-covid-19/|archive-date=March 22, 2020}}</ref> the San Mateo County Event Center in [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]], and [[Craneway Pavilion]] in [[Richmond, California|Richmond]]. The temporary field hospitals, which are managed by the [[Strategic National Stockpile]] Division of the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]], can receive noncritical patients from local hospitals for convalescent care. The Santa Clara location was converted on March 21 and admitted its first two patients on April 5.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Field Respite Center at the City of Santa Clara Convention Center Accepts First Patients|publisher=Santa Clara County Public Health Department|date=April 5, 2020|access-date=May 12, 2020|url=https://www.sccgov.org/sites/phd/news/Pages/press-release-04-05-20-field-respite-center.aspx}}</ref> The Air National Guard converted the San Mateo location on April 1<ref>{{cite news|title=Treatment center opens at the San Mateo County Event Center|first=Scott|last=Morris|publisher=[[San Mateo Daily Journal]]|agency=[[Bay City News]]|date=April 1, 2020|access-date=May 12, 2020|url=https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/treatment-center-opens-at-the-san-mateo-county-event-center/article_30c32e52-747b-11ea-8cc0-0f0ca7052a82.html}}</ref> and the Richmond location the following day.<ref>{{cite news|title=See how a Bay Area concert venue has been converted into a hospital for COVID-19 patients|first=Amy|last=Graff|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=April 3, 2020|access-date=May 13, 2020|url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Craneway-Pavilion-hospital-Richmond-COVID-19-15177097.php}}</ref>

==Community and academic response==
{{expand section|date=May 2020}}

The Innovative Genomics Institute at the [[University of California, Berkeley]], headed by Dr. [[Jennifer Doudna]] converted the genomic-editing research laboratory to run [[COVID-19 testing|COVID-19 tests]]. Despite a widespread need for COVID testing, doctors and hospitals were hesitant to use the newly set up labs in favor of major commercial laboratories like LabCorp and Quest.<ref>{{cite news|title=These Labs Rushed to Test for Coronavirus. They Had Few Takers.|first=Katie|last=Thomas|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 21, 2020|access-date=May 21, 2020|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/health/coronavirus-testing-lab-capacity.html}}</ref>

==Economic impact==
{{expand section|date=May 2020}}

===Unemployment===
As in other parts of California and the United States, the Bay Area has experienced a dramatic increase in unemployment as a result of voluntary and mandatory social distancing measures. In April 2020, unemployment in the Bay Area increased by 555,100 residents or 13.7% month over month, including a 15.1% increase in private-sector job losses.<ref name="Merc Avalos tech">{{cite news|title=Silicon Valley wields tech shield against layoffs|first=George|last=Avalos|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 27, 2020|access-date=May 27, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/27/coronavirus-economy-silicon-valley-wields-tech-shield-layoffs-job-unemployment-google-amazon-apple-facebook-netflix/}}</ref>

Unemployment has affected the Bay Area unevenly from one area or industry to another.<ref name="Merc Avalos tech" /> Despite layoffs by startups in March and April,<ref name="CNBC Levy">{{cite news|title=The tech industry's early work-from-home mandates helped California and Washington flatten the curve|first=Ari|last=Levy|publisher=[[CNBC]]|date=April 16, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/16/california-and-washington-tech-work-from-home-edicts-flattened-curve.html}}</ref> job losses in the technology industry increased by only 4.1%, compared to an increase by more than 50% in the hospitality industry. Due to the technology industry's dominance in [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]] known as [[Silicon Valley]], unemployment increased by only 11.2% there in April, compared to 14.6% in the [[East Bay]] and 14.4% in San Francisco and [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo County]].<ref name="Merc Avalos tech" /> In San Francisco, which is relatively dependent on tourism, over 100,000 residents, or about one-ninth of the city's population, filed for [[Unemployment benefits in the United States|unemployment benefits]] during the pandemic.<ref>{{cite news|title=Coronavirus updates: One in 9 San Francisco residents has filed for unemployment insurance|first1=Amy|last1=Graff|first2=Eric|last2=Ting|first3=Alyssa|last3=Pereira|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 13, 2020|access-date=May 18, 2020|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/editorspicks/article/California-counties-moving-into-stage-2-more-quick-15267068.php}}</ref>

{{As of|2020|5|13|df=US}}, large Bay Area employers have collectively sent the state [[Employment Development Department]] about 24,700 [[Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988|WARN]] notices about proposed mass layoffs, furloughs, or facility closures.<ref name="Merc Avalos">{{cite news|title=Remote workforces Bay Area new normal|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|first=George|last=Avalos|date=May 15, 2020|access-date=May 15, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/15/coronavirus-economy-remote-workforce-bay-area-new-normal-survey-job-layoff-unemployment-tech-retail-uber-edd-ui/}}</ref>

===Construction===
[[File:San Mateo Signs.jpg|thumb|Signs of community support in front of the popular Sushi Sam's restaurant in [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]] posted in May 2020]]
Bay Area counties' strict interpretations of shelter-in-place orders halted most residential and commercial construction projects.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Bay Area Health Officers Issue Updated Stay-at-Home Order with New Restrictions to Last Through May 3|publisher=Alameda County Public Health Department, City of Berkeley, Contra Costa County Joint Information Center, Marin County, San Mateo County Joint Information Center, San Francisco Department of Emergency Management Joint Information Center, Santa Clara County Joint Information Center|date=March 31, 2020|access-date=May 13, 2020|url=https://www.smcgov.org/news/bay-area-health-officers-issue-updated-stay-home-order-new-restrictions-last-through|via=County of San Mateo}}</ref> Some construction projects resumed in mid-May.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tech campus restarts San Jose construction|first=George|last=Avalos|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 13, 2020|access-date=May 13, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/13/coronavirus-economy-huge-tech-campus-restarts-construction-san-jose-development-real-estate-office-santana-row/}}</ref>

===Government===
[[San Francisco]] has tentatively projected that its deficit will double to between ${{format price|1100000000}} and ${{format price|1700000000}} over fiscal years 2020 and 2021.<ref name="KQED Lin">{{cite news|title=Bay Area Braces for Budget Deficits as Coronavirus Dries Up Local Tax Dollars|first=Shannon|last=Lin|publisher=[[KQED Inc.|KQED]]|date=April 24, 2020|access-date=May 13, 2020|url=https://www.kqed.org/news/11810361/bay-area-braces-for-budget-deficits-as-coronavirus-dries-up-local-tax-dollars}}</ref>

[[Redwood City, California|Redwood City]] expects to have a balanced budget in 2020 but a ${{format price|10000000}} deficit in 2021.<ref name="Chron Hwang">{{cite news|title=Bay Area cities face grim financial outlook amid budget slashing. Here's what they are planning to cut|first1=Kellie|last1=Hwang|first2=Mike|last2=Massa|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 10, 2020|access-date=May 13, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Bay-Area-cities-face-grim-financial-outlook-amid-15259394.php}}</ref>

{{As of|2020|5}}, [[San Jose, California|San Jose]] projects a ${{format price|45000000}} deficit for fiscal year 2019–20 and a ${{format price|71600000}} deficit for 2020–21, revised downward from a ${{format price|500000}} surplus projected in 2019. The impact will be significantly worse than either the [[Dot-com bubble|dot-com bust]] or the [[Great Recession]].<ref>{{cite news|title=San Jose project $110 budget shortfall|first=Maggie|last=Angst|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=April 7, 2020|access-date=May 13, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/07/san-jose-projects-budget-shortfall-of-110-million-due-to-coronavirus/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=San Jose projects $71 million budget deficit|first=Maggie|last=Angst|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 13, 2020|access-date=May 13, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/13/worse-than-the-great-recession-san-jose-releases-new-budget-proposal-with-71-6-million-deficit/}}</ref> [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]] projected a ${{format price|40000000}} loss in revenue.<ref>{{cite news|title=Coronavirus Update: San Francisco Bay Area Cities Looking At Tough Cuts As They Face Huge Deficits|first=Betty|last=Yu|publisher=[[KPIX-TV]]|date=May 12, 2020|access-date=May 13, 2020|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/05/12/coronavirus-update-richmond-among-bay-area-cities-looking-at-tough-cuts-as-they-face-huge-deficits/}}</ref>

[[Oakland, California|Oakland]] projected an ${{format price|80000000}} deficit over 14 months and has laid off part-time employees.<ref name="KQED Lin" /> [[Berkeley, California|Berkeley]] projected a ${{format price|2600000}} deficit in 2020 and a ${{format price|25200000}} deficit in 2021.<ref name="Chron Hwang" />

[[Richmond, California|Richmond]] projected a ${{format price|7000000}} deficit in 2020 and a ${{format price|27000000}} deficit in 2021. [[Walnut Creek, California|Walnut Creek]] closed a ${{format price|13000000}} budget gap in 2020 but expects a ${{format price|12000000}} deficit in 2021.<ref name="Chron Hwang" />

[[Vallejo, California|Vallejo]] projected a ${{format price|13000000}} deficit.<ref name="Chron Hwang" />

[[Napa, California|Napa]] projected a ${{format price|10000000}} deficit in 2020 and a deficit from ${{format price|15000000}} to ${{format price|20000000}} in 2021.<ref name="Chron Hwang" />

[[Santa Rosa, California|Santa Rosa]] tapped its reserves to close a ${{format price|12000000}} budget gap in 2020 but expects a ${{format price|20000000}} deficit in 2021.<ref name="Chron Hwang" />

[[Sausalito, California|Sausalito]] expects a ${{format price|1600000}} deficit for fiscal year 2019–20 and a ${{format price|4900000}} deficit for 2020–21.<ref name="Chron Hwang" />

===Manufacturing===
Some major Bay Area manufacturers, such as [[Lockheed Martin]] in Sunnyvale and [[Chevron Corporation]] in [[San Ramon, California|San Ramon]], have been exempted from shelter-in-place orders as essential businesses. However, the [[Tesla Factory]] in [[Fremont, California|Fremont]] was not exempted and was forced to halt production, resulting in the furlough of nearly 11,100 employees.<ref name="Merc Avalos" /> On May 11, [[Tesla, Inc.|Tesla]] resumed manufacturing operations at the factory despite an Alameda County order allowing only minimum basic operations.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tesla opens Fremont plant, defies Bay Area orders|first1=Maggie|last1=Angst|first2=Rex|last2=Crum|first3=John|last3=Woolfolk|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 11, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/11/tesla-defies-bay-area-coronavirus-orders-restarts-fremont-plant/}}</ref>

===Retail and foodservice===
[[File:Empty aisles in San Francisco grocery stores after coronavirus shelter-in-place policy.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Empty shelves at a San Francisco [[Safeway Inc.|Safeway]] on March 17, the day after the shelter-in-place order took effect]]

The March 13 announcement of a shelter-in-place order triggered a wave of [[panic buying]] throughout the region.<ref>{{cite news|title=It's all gone': Fears over coronavirus fuel panic buying at Bay Area stores|first=David|last=Louie|work=[[KGO-TV]]|date=March 13, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://abc7news.com/costco-coronavirus-bay-area-san-jose-panic-buying/6011289/}}</ref>

By April, the [[United States Consumer Price Index|Consumer Price Index]] for the San Francisco area (Alameda, Contra Costa, and Marin counties and San Francisco) fell by 0.5% compared to February, a 1.1% rise year over year. By category, retail prices rose by 14.5% year over year for meat, 9.6% for dairy, 6.7% for food at home (bought in stores), and 0.6% for alcohol. Retail prices fell by 28.4% for regular unleaded gas, 27.6% year over year for motor fuel in general, 12% for clothing, and 7.8% for transportation.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bay Area meat, dairy prices spike; alcohol cost dips in pandemic|first=Michael|last=Nowels|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 12, 2020|access-date=May 12, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/12/bay-area-meat-dairy-prices-spike-as-alcohol-cost-slightly-dips-during-pandemic/}}</ref>

Of the San Jose Downtown Association's more than 1,600 member businesses, 83% are temporarily or permanently closed, 9% are operating with reduced service, and 8% are fully operational as of mid-May.<ref>{{cite news|title=Decades of Community-Building at Stake as San Jose's Cultural Districts Fight to Survive|first=Jennifer|last=Wadsworth|work=[[San Jose Inside]]|date=May 13, 2020|url=https://www.sanjoseinside.com/news/decades-of-community-building-at-stake-as-san-joses-cultural-districts-fight-to-survive/}}</ref>

Due to the pandemic, the [[Pleasanton, California|Pleasanton]]-based Specialty's bakery-café chain, which specialized in corporate catering, permanently closed its more than 50 locations on May 19, 2020, after 33 years in business.<ref>{{cite news|title=All Specialty's Cafe & Bakery restaurants will close permanently|first=Linda|last=Zavoral|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 17, 2020|access-date=May 17, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/17/all-specialtys-cafe-bakery-restaurants-will-close-permanently/}}</ref> [[San Jose, California|San Jose]]–based [[Fry's Electronics]] also blamed the pandemic for its closure on February 24, 2021.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fry's Electronics goes out of business permanently, closes all stores|first=George|last=Avalos|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=February 24, 2021|access-date=February 24, 2021|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/02/24/frys-electronics-worker-store-closing-retail-tech-economy-job-layoff/}}</ref>

===Technology===
The technology industry was not as heavily impacted by stay-at-home orders as the leisure and hospitality industries. Demand for Bay Area–based [[teleconferencing]] and [[e-commerce]] services increased significantly during the pandemic.<ref>{{cite news|title=Good news for Bay Area: Tech hiring despite the coronavirus|first1=Chase|last1=DiFeliciantonio|first2=Roland|last2=Li|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=April 7, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Good-news-for-Bay-Area-Tech-hiring-despite-the-15180808.php}}</ref> According to [[San Jose, California|San Jose]]–based [[Zoom Video Communications]], usage of its [[Zoom (software)|Zoom software]] rose to 300 million [[active users]], compared to about 10 million per day in December 2019.<ref>{{cite news|title=Zoom to hire 500 software engineers as video use surges|first=Rex|last=Crum|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 14, 2020|access-date=May 14, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/14/coronavirus-zoom-video-to-hire-500-new-software-engineers-as-usage-surges/}}</ref>

By early March, many large technology companies began encouraging or requiring employees to [[remote work]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Coronavirus-Facebook-tells-most-Bay-Area-15110818.php |title=Coronavirus: Apple, Facebook tell Bay Area employees to work from home |first=Kate |last=Galbraith |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=March 6, 2020}}</ref> These [[social distancing]] measures, which predated mandatory shelter-in-place orders, are credited with helping to lessen the initial impact of the pandemic.<ref name="CNBC Levy" /><ref name="NYT Arango" />

On May 15, the [[Bay Area Council]] released a survey finding that 17.9% of companies planned to keep their employees [[remote work]]ing on a permanent basis, while 89.3% planned to remain a partially remote workforce.<ref name="Merc Avalos" /> [[Facebook]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/21/zuckerberg-50-of-facebook-employees-may-soon-permanently-work-remotely/ |title=50% of Facebook employees may soon permanently work remotely |first=Rex |last=Crum |work=[[The Mercury News]] |location=[[San Jose, California]] |date=May 21, 2020 }}</ref> [[Square, Inc.]], [[Google]] and [[Twitter]] announced permanent or extended [[remote work]] policies.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/18/coronavirus-another-bay-area-tech-firm-says-employees-can-work-from-home-permanently/ |title=Bay Area tech firm offers permanent remote work |first=Ethan |last=Baron |work=[[The Mercury News]] |location=[[San Jose, California]] |date=May 18, 2020}}</ref>

{{As of|2020|6|df=yes}}, [[Lyft]], [[Yelp]], [[IBM]], and [[LendingClub]] disclosed a combined total of 1,000 planned layoffs in the Bay Area.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/06/10/coronavirus-tech-layoffs-bay-area-economy-edd-ui-job-unemployment-lyft-lending-club-yelp-ibm/ |title=Tech layoffs emerge in Bay Area |first=George |last=Avalos |work=[[The Mercury News]] |location=[[San Jose, California]] |date=June 10, 2020}}</ref>

Technology conferences that are normally held in Bay Area cities have been canceled, postponed, or replaced by [[Internet streaming]] events, including:

* [[Apple Worldwide Developers Conference]]{{snd}} moved online<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/13/apple-wwdc-moved-to-online-only-cancels-in-person-event.html|title=Apple moves WWDC developers conference online due to coronavirus|last=Leswing|first=Kif|date=March 13, 2020|publisher=CNBC|access-date=March 13, 2020}}</ref>
* [[Salesforce|Dreamforce]] (San Francisco's largest conference){{snd}} moved online<ref name="KPIX Vazquez">{{cite news|title=Coronavirus Update: Experts Expect A Slow Return Of International Visitors To San Francisco|first=Joe|last=Vazquez|publisher=[[KPIX-TV]]|date=May 4, 2020|access-date=May 17, 2020|url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2020/05/04/coronavirus-update-experts-expect-a-slow-return-of-international-visitors-to-san-francisco/}}</ref>
* [[Facebook F8]]{{snd}} canceled<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/27/21156308/facebook-f8-developer-conference-cancelled-coronavirus-concern-covid-19|title=Facebook cancels F8 developer conference due to coronavirus concerns|last=Gartenberg|first=Chaim|date=February 27, 2020|website=The Verge|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311202715/https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/27/21156308/facebook-f8-developer-conference-cancelled-coronavirus-concern-covid-19|archive-date=March 11, 2020|access-date=March 11, 2020}}</ref>
* [[Game Developers Conference]]{{snd}} postponed<ref>{{cite news|title=GDC postponed to later this year over coronavirus concerns|first1=Megan|last1=Farokhmanesh|first2=Nick|last2=Statt|work=[[The Verge]]|date=February 28, 2020|access-date=May 17, 2020|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/28/21156037/gdc-2020-canceled-coronavirus-gaming-event-san-francisco}}</ref>
* Google Cloud Next{{snd}} canceled<ref name="Verge Statt">{{cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/2/21162185/google-microsoft-io-2020-build-tech-conference-coronavirus|title=Google and Microsoft just canceled two conferences ahead of their major ones|last=Statt|first=Nick|date=March 2, 2020|website=The Verge|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311202715/https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/2/21162185/google-microsoft-io-2020-build-tech-conference-coronavirus|archive-date=March 11, 2020|access-date=March 11, 2020}}</ref>
* [[Google I/O]]{{snd}} canceled<ref name="Verge Statt" />
* [[GPU Technology Conference]]{{snd}} moved online<ref>{{cite news|title=Nvidia's GPU Technology Conference will now be online only due to coronavirus concerns|first=Jay|last=Peters|work=The Verge|date=March 2, 2020|access-date=May 17, 2020|url=https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/2/21161635/nvidias-gpu-technology-conference-gtc-online-only-coronavirus}}</ref>
* [[VMworld]]{{snd}} moved online<ref>{{cite magazine|title=VMworld 2020 Will Be A Digital Event For The First Time|first=Joseph|last=Tsidulko|magazine=[[CRN (magazine)|CRN]]|date=April 14, 2020|access-date=May 17, 2020|url=https://www.crn.com/news/cloud/vmworld-2020-will-be-a-digital-event-for-the-first-time}}</ref>

The [[RSA Security|RSA]] Conference was held in February as scheduled, but [[Verizon]], [[AT&T]], and [[IBM]] pulled out of the conference on February 21, as concerns began to grow about the pandemic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rsaconference.com/novel-coronavirus-update|title=Novel Coronavirus Update|date=January 26, 2020|website=RSA Conference|access-date=February 29, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608125624/https://www.rsaconference.com/novel-coronavirus-update|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Tourism===
[[File:Pier 39 (49662840011).jpg|thumb|right|A deserted [[Pier 39]] in San Francisco]]

San Francisco's economy is heavily dependent on tourism, which normally employs 90,000 people and generates more tax revenue than any other industry in the city. International tourism normally accounts for 64% of San Francisco's tourism spending but has largely disappeared during the pandemic.<ref name="KPIX Vazquez" /> San Francisco's destination marketing organization is projecting visitor volume  to recover to 18.4 million for 2021, still down 30 percent to 2019.  Gradual improvement will be driven primarily by domestic visitation. International tourism will take much longer to recover.

==Social impact==
{{update section|date=October 2020}}

===Education===
{{further|COVID-19 pandemic in California#Effects on education}}

[[File:Steindorf STEAM School, San Jose, California, May 15, 2020.jpg|thumb|right|A closed elementary school in [[San Jose, California|San Jose]]]]

{{expand section|date=May 2020}}

On April 1, school superintendents in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties announced that in-person classes would not resume during the 2019–20 school year.<ref>{{cite news|title=Santa Clara County schools will not reopen this academic year|first=Elena|last=Kadvany|work=[[Palo Alto Weekly]]|date=April 1, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2020/04/01/santa-clara-county-schools-will-not-reopen-this-academic-year}}</ref>

Many Bay Area colleges and universities have announced plans for instruction in response to the pandemic:<ref>{{cite news|title=Here's a List of Colleges' Plans for Reopening in the Fall|work=[[The Chronicle of Higher Education]]|date=April 23, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/Here-s-a-List-of-Colleges-/248626}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsed"
|+ Educational institutions by 2020–21 school year reopening plans
|-
!Institution
!Fall 2020
!Spring 2021
|-
|[[Berkeley City College]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref name="Peralta">{{cite web|title=Updates on COVID-19|publisher=Laney College|date=May 11, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://laney.edu/blog/updates-on-covid-19/|archive-date=May 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513014101/https://laney.edu/blog/updates-on-covid-19/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[California College of the Arts]]
|{{Yes-No|mixture of online and in-person classes with [[Distance education|distance learning]] options for some first-year undergraduates}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Our plan for fall semester 2020|publisher=California College of the Arts|date=2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://www.cca.edu/admissions/fall-semester-2020-plan/}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[California State University, East Bay]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref name="CHE Leckrone">{{cite news|title=California State U. System Will Conduct Most Fall Classes Online|first=Bennett|last=Leckrone|work=The Chronicle of Higher Education|date=May 12, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/California-State-U-System/248759}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[California State University Maritime Academy]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref name="CHE Leckrone" />
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[California State University, Monterey Bay]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref name="CHE Leckrone" />
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Cañada College]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref name="SMCCD">{{cite web|title=Classes Will be Online for Summer and Fall 2020|first=Richard|last=Rojo|publisher=[[San Mateo County Community College District]]|date=May 19, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://covid-19.smccd.edu/summer-classes-will-be-online-for-summer-and-fall-2020/}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[City College of San Francisco]]
|{{no2|online}}<ref>{{cite web|title=CCSF Community Messages|work=City College of San Francisco|date=May 15, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://www.ccsf.edu/en/community.html}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[College of Alameda]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref name="Peralta" />
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[College of San Mateo]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref name="SMCCD" />
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Contra Costa College]]
|{{no2|online}}<ref name="CCCCD">{{cite web|title=District Updates|publisher=[[Contra Costa Community College District]]|date=May 1, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=http://www.4cd.edu/covid19/updates.aspx|archive-date=April 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200404083539/http://www.4cd.edu/covid19/updates.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone]]
|{{good|in person}}<ref>{{cite web|title=COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Updates|publisher=The Culinary Institute of America|date=May 19, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://www.ciachef.edu/coronavirus-updates/}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[De Anza College]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Schedule of Classes|publisher=De Anza College|date=2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://www.deanza.edu/schedule/}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Diablo Valley College]]
|{{no2|online}}<ref name="CCCCD" />
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Dominican University of California]]
|{{good|in person}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Coronavirus Information|work=Dominican University of California|date=April 30, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://www.dominican.edu/covid19}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Evergreen Valley College]]
|{{no2|online}}<ref name="SJECCD">{{cite web|title=COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) Information|publisher=San Jose Evergreen Community College District|date=May 11, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://www.sjeccd.edu/discover-sjeccd/chancellor/covid-19-novel-coronavirus-info}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Foothill College]]
|{{no2|online}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Virtual Campus|publisher=Foothill College|date=2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://foothill.edu/virtualcampus/}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Holy Names University]]
|{{good|in person}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Message about Coronavirus prevention and preparation|publisher=Holy Names University|date=May 6, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://www.hnu.edu/news/message-about-coronavirus-prevention-and-preparation-2/}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Laney College]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref name="Peralta" />
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Los Medanos College]]
|{{no2|online}}<ref name="CCCCD" />
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Menlo College]]
|{{Yes-No|in person, but start of fall semester delayed}}<ref>{{cite letter|title=Update to students regarding summer housing and fall planning|first=Angela|last=Schmiede|recipient=[[Menlo Oaks]]|publisher=Menlo College|date=May 12, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vRNO3wQWi8C66GKeK1bJWFcVC73O-ZPevywKWj3cVysjpll_Reywjj9Gowh9jVdIovBPIEbtT70KZw0/pub|via=Google Docs}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Merritt College]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref name="Peralta" />
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Notre Dame de Namur University]]
|{{no2|new undergraduate admissions suspended}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Notre Dame de Namur in a grim spiral|first=John|last=Horgan|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 17, 2020|access-date=May 18, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/17/horgan-notre-dame-de-namur-appears-to-be-in-a-grim-death-spiral/}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Future of Notre Dame de Namur University|publisher=Notre Dame de Namur University|date=May 13, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://www.ndnu.edu/future-of-ndnu/|archive-date=May 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526082059/https://www.ndnu.edu/future-of-ndnu/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Pacific School of Religion]]
|{{Yes-No|in person, but introducing distance learning options}}<ref>{{cite letter|subject=Gratitude, Cafeteria, On-Line Option in the Fall|first=David|last=Vásquez-Levy|recipient=students|publisher=Pacific School of Religion|date=April 6, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://psr.edu/latest-updates-from-the-president/}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Presidio Graduate School]]
|{{partial|resuming online instruction with monthly in-person residencies}}<ref>{{cite web|title=COVID-19 Response|publisher=Presidio Graduate School|date=2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://www.presidio.edu/covid19-response/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519015023/https://www.presidio.edu/covid19-response|archive-date=May 19, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Saint Mary's College of California]]
|{{good|in person}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Message to Faculty, Staff & Students About Fall 2020|publisher=Saint Mary's College of California|date=2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://www.stmarys-ca.edu/public-safety-transportation/coronavirus-covid-information-resources/message-to-faculty-staff|archive-date=May 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519004742/https://www.stmarys-ca.edu/public-safety-transportation/coronavirus-covid-information-resources/message-to-faculty-staff|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[San Francisco State University]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref name="CHE Leckrone" />
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[San Jose City College]]
|{{no2|online}}<ref name="SJECCD" />
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[San Jose State University]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref name="CHE Leckrone" />
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Santa Clara University]]
|{{Yes-No|mixture of in-person and online classes}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Santa Clara Univ. plans to reopen campus in fall|first=Evan|last=Webeck|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 20, 2020|access-date=May 20, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/20/coronavirus-santa-clara-university-plans-to-reopen-campus-in-fall/}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Santa Rosa Junior College]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Coronavirus Updates|publisher=Santa Rosa Junior College|date=April 30, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://pr.santarosa.edu/coronavirus-updates|archive-date=May 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515144816/https://pr.santarosa.edu/coronavirus-updates|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Skyline College]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref name="SMCCD" />
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Sonoma State University]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref name="CHE Leckrone" />
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Stanford University]]
|{{partial|most classes online, all single dormitory rooms}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Online classes, single dorms likely as officials announce early start to fall quarter|first=Aldo|last=Toledo|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=June 3, 2020|access-date=June 3, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/06/03/stanford-online-classes-single-dorms-likely-as-officials-announce-early-start-to-fall-quarter/}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[Starr King School for the Ministry]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref>{{cite tweet|user=StarrKingGTU|number=1262900135274692609|date=May 19, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|title=Did you know that Starr King is an experienced leader in distance education? All summer and fall courses will be offered in either online or hybrid formats!}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[University of California, Berkeley]]
|{{partial|some or all classes online}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Fall 2020 FAQs|publisher=University of California, Berkeley|date=April 17, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://sa.berkeley.edu/covid19/Fall2020#1}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[University of the Pacific (United States)|University of the Pacific]]
|{{good|in person}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)|publisher=University of the Pacific|date=April 29, 2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://www.pacific.edu/campus-life/student-services/student-health-services/novel-coronavirus-covid-19.html|archive-date=May 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510192444/https://www.pacific.edu/campus-life/student-services/student-health-services/novel-coronavirus-covid-19.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|-
|[[University of San Francisco]]
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://myusf.usfca.edu/announcement/fall-semester-will-be-remote|title=Fall Semester will be Remote|date=July 14, 2020|access-date=October 11, 2020|publisher=University of San Francisco}}</ref>
|{{partial|most classes online}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://myusf.usfca.edu/announcement/update-spring-semester-2021|title=Update on Spring Semester 2021|date=October 8, 2020|access-date=October 13, 2020|publisher=University of San Francisco}}</ref>
|-
|[[William Jessup University]]
|{{good|in person}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Forward Together|publisher=William Jessup University|date=2020|access-date=May 19, 2020|url=https://jessup.edu/coronavirus-information/forward-together/|archive-date=May 13, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200513004641/https://jessup.edu/coronavirus-information/forward-together/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|{{N/A|Unknown}}
|}

On February 15, 2022, three commissioners of the [[San Francisco Board of Education]] were recalled in [[2022 San Francisco Board of Education recall elections|the city's first recall election]] in 39 years. The school board's decision to keep schools closed longer than other major school districts was cited as a factor in the successful recall effort.

===Hunger===
Over the first 10 weeks since the shelter-in-place order was issued, Bay Area food banks have seen demand double and calls increase a thousandfold. According to [[Second Harvest of Silicon Valley]], the number of residents needing food distribution increased 40% from 270,000 in February to 370,000 in April. The [[Alameda County Community Food Bank]] has distributed over a million of pounds of food a week and seen lines stretching more than 1,000 cars in a day.<ref>{{cite news|title=How coronavirus created the breadline of 2020|first=Julia Prodis|last=Sulek|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 20, 2020|access-date=May 20, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/20/windows-up-trunks-open-how-coronavirus-created-the-breadline-of-2020/}}</ref>

===Housing===
[[File:Memorial Day 2020 - San Francisco Under Quarantine (49935630543).jpg|thumb|right|A "safe sleeping village" at San Francisco's [[Civic Center, San Francisco|Civic Center]] organized tents into an evenly spaced grid as a safer alternative to the city's usual homeless encampments.]]

An ongoing [[California housing shortage|housing shortage in California]] has increased housing costs dramatically and contributed to the Bay Area's [[Homelessness in the San Francisco Bay Area|high rates of homelessness]].<ref name="Merc Castañeda" /> Homeless shelters have been major sites of community transmission. On April 10, 70 of 144 occupants of one homeless shelter in [[San Francisco]] were confirmed to have COVID-19.<ref>{{cite news|title=Major Outbreak in San Francisco Shelter Underlines Danger for the Homeless|first=Thomas|last=Fuller|work=The New York Times|date=April 10, 2020|access-date=May 12, 2020|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/us/coronavirus-san-francisco-homeless-shelter.html}}</ref>

By April, the number of [[List of tent cities in the United States|tents and makeshift structures]] increased by 71% over the previous quarter in San Francisco and by 285% in the [[Tenderloin, San Francisco|Tenderloin]] neighborhood specifically.<ref>{{cite news|title=Unemployment surge could cause homelessness spike|first=Marisa|last=Kendall|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 15, 2020|access-date=May 15, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/15/coronavirus-could-make-tens-of-thousands-of-californians-homeless-according-to-report/}}</ref> {{As of|2020|5|3|df=US}}, San Francisco has leased 2,700 hotel rooms as emergency housing for at-risk homeless people and first responders. Although the state government has reserved hotel rooms throughout the state for similar purposes, homeless people have come to the city from other areas looking for hotel rooms, prompting Mayor [[London Breed]] to focus the city's emergency housing resources on local homeless people.<ref>{{cite news|title=SF a magnet for homeless seeking free hotel rooms during coronavirus pandemic|first=Phil|last=Matier|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 3, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/philmatier/article/SF-a-magnet-for-homeless-seeking-free-hotel-room-15241814.php}}</ref>

There are nearly 6,200 homeless people in [[San Jose, California|San Jose]], most of them Hispanic or African American. At least 2,500 are considered at high risk for infection due to underlying health conditions. The city added more than 400 temporary beds at homeless shelters, including a temporary shelter near the [[San Jose Convention Center]]. In mid-March, shortly after the shelter-in-place order took effect, the [[California Governor's Office of Emergency Services|Governor's Office of Emergency Services]] delivered 104 trailers to a property near [[Happy Hollow Park & Zoo]] to use as emergency housing. After repairs, 90 trailers began accepting occupants on May 14.<ref>{{cite news|title=San Jose funds trailers to serve homeless|first=Maggie|last=Angst|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 12, 2020|access-date=May 12, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/12/after-two-month-delay-san-jose-finally-prepares-to-serve-homeless-residents-in-trailers/}}</ref>

On March 17, San Jose became one of the first jurisdictions in the U.S. to place a [[Rent regulation|moratorium on evictions]], followed by surrounding [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]], [[San Francisco]], [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], and cities across the country.<ref>{{cite news|title=San Jose extends eviction moratorium, rent freeze|first=Maggie|last=Angst|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=April 15, 2020|access-date=May 26, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/15/san-jose-extends-eviction-moratorium-moves-forward-with-rent-freeze/}}</ref><ref name="Curbed Brinklow">{{cite news|title=Coronavirus: Oakland caps rent hikes during COVID-19 outbreak|first=Adam|last=Brinklow|work=[[Curbed]]|date=March 30, 2020|access-date=May 26, 2020|url=https://sf.curbed.com/2020/3/30/21198570/oakland-coronavirus-rent-cap-control-eviction-moratorium}}</ref>

The following Bay Area jurisdictions have placed moratoria on evictions:

* [[Alameda County, California|Alameda County]]{{snd}} until December 31 or until the local health emergency expires, whichever comes later<ref name="Merc Du Sault">{{cite news|title=Bay Area eviction bans: Here's when they expire|first=Laurence|last=Du Sault|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=August 6, 2020|access-date=August 6, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/08/06/coronavirus-eviction-bans-heres-when-key-bay-area-moratoriums-expire/}}</ref>
** [[Fremont, California|Fremont]]{{snd}} until 30 days after the local health emergency expires<ref name="Merc Du Sault" />
** [[Hayward, California|Hayward]]{{snd}} until September 30<ref name="Merc Du Sault" />
** [[Oakland, California|Oakland]]{{snd}} until August 31<ref name="Merc Du Sault" />
* [[Contra Costa County, California|Contra Costa County]]{{snd}} until September 30<ref name="Merc Du Sault" />
** [[Concord, California|Concord]]{{snd}} until September 30<ref name="Merc Du Sault" />
** [[Richmond, California|Richmond]]{{snd}} until September 30<ref name="Merc Du Sault" />
* [[San Francisco]]{{snd}} until August 31<ref name="Merc Du Sault" />
* [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo County]]{{snd}} until August 31<ref name="Merc Du Sault" />
** [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]]{{snd}} for commercial tenants until the local health emergency expires<ref>{{cite web|title=Adopting an Emergency Ordinance Amending an Ordinance Imposing a Moratorium on Evictions for Non-Payment of Rent by Tenants Impacted by the COVID-19 Pandemic|publisher=City of San Mateo|date=|access-date=February 1, 2025|url=https://law.cityofsanmateo.org/us/ca/cities/san-mateo/ordinances/2020/adopted/2020-8.pdf}}</ref>
* [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]]{{snd}} until August 31<ref name="Merc Du Sault" />
** [[Mountain View, California|Mountain View]]{{snd}} until August 31<ref name="Merc Du Sault" />
** [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]]{{snd}} until the local health emergency expires<ref name="Merc Du Sault" />
** [[San Jose, California|San Jose]]{{snd}} until August 31<ref name="Merc Du Sault" />
** [[Sunnyvale, California|Sunnyvale]]{{snd}} until the local health emergency expires<ref name="Merc Du Sault" />

San Jose temporarily modified its [[Rent regulation|rent control]] ordinance to place a moratorium on rent increases through the end of 2020, affecting tens of thousands of apartment buildings and mobile home parks.<ref>{{cite news|title=San Jose adopts rent freeze|first=Maggie|last=Angst|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=April 29, 2020|access-date=May 26, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/04/29/san-jose-passes-rent-freeze-due-to-coronavirus/}}</ref> Oakland also extended a 3.5% limit to rent increases until June 30.<ref name="Curbed Brinklow" />

===Legal system===
{{further|COVID-19 pandemic in California#Effects on prisons}}

{{expand section|date=May 2020}}

On March 20, Alameda County officials announced that 247 people would be released from [[Santa Rita Jail]] in [[Dublin, California|Dublin]].<ref name="LAT Dolan">{{cite news|title=California releases more jail inmates amid coronavirus crisis|first1=Marua|last1=Dolan|first2=Alene|last2=Tchekmedyian|first3=Piage|last3=St. John|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 20, 2020|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-20/california-releases-more-jail-inmates-amid-coronavirus-crisis|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321180117/https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-20/california-releases-more-jail-inmates-amid-coronavirus-crisis|archive-date=March 21, 2020}}</ref>

===Transportation===
{{further|Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport#California}}[[File:Empty Antioch–SFO–Millbrae line BART train.jpg|thumb|right|An empty car on the BART [[Yellow Line (BART)|Antioch–SFO/Millbrae line]] on a Friday morning]]

Beginning March 13, the [[United States Department of Homeland Security]] required Americans traveling from the [[Schengen Area]], China, and Iran to enter the U.S. through one of 13 airports, including [[San Francisco International Airport]] (SFO).<ref>{{cite press release|title=Department of Homeland Security Outlines New Process for Americans Returning from Certain European Countries, China, and Iran|publisher=United States Department of Homeland Security|date=March 13, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.dhs.gov/news/2020/03/13/department-homeland-security-outlines-new-process-americans-returning-certain}}</ref> In March, 508,100 passengers traveled through the [[San Jose International Airport]] (SJC), down 58.6% year over year, after consistent gains before the pandemic.<ref>{{cite news|title=Huge drop in San Jose airport travel|first=George|last=Avalos|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=May 20, 2020|access-date=May 20, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/20/coronavirus-economy-huge-drop-san-jose-airport-travel-airline-tech/}}</ref> By the beginning of April, foot traffic at SFO, SJC, and [[Oakland International Airport]] had fallen by 73% compared to before the pandemic, according to [[Foursquare (company)|Foursquare]] location tracking data.<ref>{{cite news|title=Shelter in place during coronavirus? Bay Area does it best, tracking app shows|first=J. K.|last=Dineen|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=April 4, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Shelter-in-place-Bay-Area-does-it-best-tracking-15178397.php}}</ref>

Public transportation agencies in the Bay Area have lost significant sources of funding from simultaneous, dramatic declines in ridership and sales tax revenue and the suspension of planned fare increases, even as the agencies maintain core service to serve essential workers. The agencies expect to receive ${{format price|1300000000}} in stimulus funding from the [[Metropolitan Transportation Commission (San Francisco Bay Area)|Metropolitan Transportation Commission]] under the [[Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act]], with the largest share going to the [[Bay Area Rapid Transit District]] and [[San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency]].<ref name="Chron Cabanatuan">{{cite news|title=Coronavirus: BART, Bay Area transit agencies expect $1.3 billion from federal stimulus bill|first=Michael|last=Cabanatuan|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=March 25, 2020|access-date=May 17, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Coronavirus-BART-Bay-Area-transit-agencies-15156771.php}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=BART and Muni to get largest share of $780 million in federal coronavirus stimulus funds|first=Rachel|last=Swan|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=April 22, 2020|access-date=May 17, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/BART-and-Muni-to-get-largest-share-of-780-15219313.php}}</ref>

In the first week of the shelter-in-place order, [[Bay Area Rapid Transit]] (BART) ridership fell by 87% to 89% of average ridership in February, though it had already begun falling with technology companies' transition to [[remote work]]. Ridership in April and early May stayed between 90% and 94% below the baseline average. BART suspended late weekday night service on March 23, 2020, and reduced weekend service on March 28, 2020. Beginning April 8, BART reduced weekday train frequency by half and ran only long train consists to facilitate [[social distancing]].<ref>{{cite web|title=BART updates related to the coronavirus|publisher=Bay Area Rapid Transit|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2020/news20200225}}</ref><ref name="Chron Cabanatuan" /> To prepare for commuters' return to BART, the system accelerated its adoption of contactless payment, eliminating paper ticket vending machines in favor of [[Clipper card]] vending machines at several stations and expanding its mobile application's parking payment feature to all stations.<ref>{{cite press release|title=BART expanding Clipper-only sales at stations systemwide through 2020|publisher=Bay Area Rapid Transit|date=June 2, 2020|access-date=June 3, 2020|url=https://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2020/news20200602}}</ref>

[[Caltrain]]'s ridership dropped by 75% in the first half of March, prior to the Bay Area–wide shelter-in-place order taking effect,<ref name="Caltrain updates">{{cite web|title=Caltrain Updates: Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)|date=March 21, 2020 |publisher=Caltrain|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.caltrain.com/about/MediaRelations/news/Caltrain_Updates__Novel_Coronavirus__COVID-19_.html}}</ref> then dropped further to only five percent of normal levels, resulting in losses of ${{format price|9000000}} per month.<ref name="Chron Swan" /> Due to low ridership, Caltrain suspended Baby Bullet service on March 13. On March 26, it further reduced weekday service from 92 trains per day to 42, suspending Limited service.<ref name="Caltrain updates" />

The Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which operates Caltrain, had been planning to propose a one-eighth-cent sales tax for voter approval later in the year, to provide an estimated ${{format price|108000000}} of dedicated funding for the system, which currently relies on rider fares for 70% of its revenue. In July, after the [[San Francisco Board of Supervisors]] initially declined to consider the ballot proposal, citing concerns about the system's governance structure, Caltrain officials warned that the agency would run out of operating funds and be forced to suspend service by the end of the year.<ref name="Chron Swan">{{cite news|title=Caltrain might have to shut down after supervisors scuttle sales tax measure|first=Rachel|last=Swan|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=July 14, 2020|access-date=July 15, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Caltrain-says-future-hangs-in-balance-as-SF-supes-15408435.php}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Caltrain derailed: Advocates predict shutdown would mean disaster for Bay Area|first=Rachel|last=Swan|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=July 15, 2020|access-date=July 15, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Caltrain-derailed-Advocates-predict-shutdown-15411557.php}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Caltrain shutdown? Once-unthinkable becomes possible|first=Nico|last=Savidge|work=The Mercury News|date=July 15, 2020|access-date=July 15, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/07/15/could-caltrain-shut-down-why-the-once-unthinkable-is-now-a-real-possibility/}}</ref> In August, San Mateo County officials agreed to make Caltrain more independent from [[SamTrans]] in exchange for places the sales tax on the ballot.<ref>{{cite news|title=Last-minute deal saves Caltrain tax. Will voters support it?|first=Nico|last=Savidge|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=August 6, 2020|access-date=August 6, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/08/06/last-minute-deal-saves-caltrain-tax-measure-will-voters-support-it/}}</ref> In June 2021, Caltrain announced that [[Caltrain Modernization Program|electric service]] would be delayed to late 2024 partly due to supply chain disruptions during the pandemic.<ref name=june2021>{{cite press release|title=Caltrain Electrification Delayed to 2024|publisher=Caltrain|date=June 3, 2021|url=https://www.caltrain.com/about/MediaRelations/news/Caltrain_Electrification_Delayed_to_2024.html}}</ref>

On May 4, the [[Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority]] began requiring every rider to wear a face covering, such as a [[cloth face mask]], to reduce the risk of transmission.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Face coverings mandatory for VTA riders beginning May 4|first=Ken|last=Blackstone|publisher=Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority|date=April 30, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.vta.org/blog/face-coverings-mandatory-vta-riders-beginning-may-4}}</ref>

The [[San Francisco Municipal Railway]] reduced bus service to core routes and suspended [[Muni Metro]] service.<ref>{{cite web|title=COVID-19 Developments & Response|publisher=[[San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency]]|date=May 4, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.sfmta.com/projects/covid-19-developments-response}}</ref>

On March 21, state-owned toll bridges in the Bay Area stopped accepting cash in favor of [[open road tolling]] via [[FasTrak]] and paying by plate. FasTrak also temporarily suspended late fees and collections.<ref>{{cite web|title=FasTrak® response to COVID-19|publisher=Bay Area FasTrak|access-date=September 9, 2020|url=https://www.bayareafastrak.org/en/about/news-alerts.shtml}}</ref>

On April 29, [[Lyft]] discontinued its electric scooter service in [[San Jose, California|San Jose]] and [[Oakland, California|Oakland]] in conjunction with a major round of layoffs. Lyft continued to operate its [[Bay Wheels]] bike sharing service.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lyft pulls electric scooters out of San Jose, Oakland|first=Jon|last=Kawamoto|work=[[East Bay Times]]|location=Walnut Creek, California|date=April 30, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/04/30/coronavirus-lyft-pulls-electric-scooters-out-of-san-jose-oakland/}}</ref>

[[Casual carpooling]] ended in March 2020. {{asof|2022|11}} it has not resumed.<ref name="savidge20221120">{{Cite web |last=Savidge |first=Nico |date=2022-11-20 |title=Casual Carpool was a Bay Area tradition before COVID. Can it make a comeback? |url=https://www.berkeleyside.org/2022/11/20/casual-carpool-bay-bridge-covid-traffi |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=Berkeleyside |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Race relations===
[[File:Chinatown (49673433051).jpg|thumb|right|San Francisco's [[Chinatown, San Francisco|Chinatown]] under a shelter-in-place order]]

There have been documented incidents of racism towards Bay Area [[Asian Pacific American]]s.<ref name="rkc2">{{cite news|title=Website Launches to Document Anti-Asian Hate Crimes in Wake of COVID-19|date=March 19, 2020|publisher=KNTV|agency=[[Bay City News]]|access-date=March 23, 2020|url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/coronavirus/website-launches-to-document-anti-asian-hate-crimes-in-wake-of-covid-19/2258297/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200323165318/https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/coronavirus/website-launches-to-document-anti-asian-hate-crimes-in-wake-of-covid-19/2258297/|archive-date=23 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Distributing free water at the San Mateo Black Lives Matter protest, June 3, 2020.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Free water distributed by masked protesters]]
Officials and community-based organizations expressed concern that fears about COVID-19 were disproportionately affecting local Asian-American businesses.<ref>{{cite news|title=As Coronavirus Spreads, Asian Americans Report Spike in Racism|first=Caitlin Yoshiko|last=Kandil|work=California Health Report|date=March 9, 2020|url=https://www.calhealthreport.org/2020/03/09/as-coronavirus-spreads-asian-americans-report-spike-in-racism/}}</ref> On February 24, House Speaker [[Nancy Pelosi]] toured San Francisco's [[Chinatown, San Francisco|Chinatown]] to support local shops that had seen declining business since the epidemic began in China.<ref>{{cite news|title=Nancy Pelosi Visits San Francisco's Chinatown Amid Coronavirus Concerns|publisher=KNTV|date=February 24, 2020|access-date=May 11, 2020|url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/nancy-pelosi-visits-san-franciscos-chinatown/2240247/}}</ref>

[[George Floyd protests in California|Several peaceful protests]] took place in the Bay Area during the pandemic to raise awareness about police brutality. One in [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]] on June 3, 2020, was attended by hundreds of people.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2020-06-04|title=Hundreds protest death of George Floyd outside San Mateo City Hall|url=https://www.kron4.com/news/george-floyd-protests/hundreds-protest-death-of-george-floyd-outside-san-mateo-city-hall/|access-date=2020-06-04|publisher=[[KRON-TV]]|language=en-US|archive-date=October 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024091420/https://www.kron4.com/news/george-floyd-protests/hundreds-protest-death-of-george-floyd-outside-san-mateo-city-hall/|url-status=dead}}</ref> A youth-led protest against [[police brutality]] in San Francisco attracted at least 10,000 protesters to the [[Mission District, San Francisco|Mission District]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Nearly 10,000 protesters gather at San Francisco's Dolores Park in wake of George Floyd's death|url=https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/george-floyd-protests-large-crowd-gathers-at-san-franciscos-dolores-park/|date=June 3, 2020|access-date=June 24, 2020|publisher=[[KRON-TV]]|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Recreation===
[[File:Memorial Day 2020 - San Francisco Under Quarantine (49935629483).jpg|thumb|right|White circles on the grass at Dolores Park on Memorial Day]]
To promote social distancing during the [[Memorial Day (United States)|Memorial Day]] weekend, the [[San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department]] painted a grid of white circles {{convert|10|ft}} in diameter, spaced {{convert|8|ft}} apart, on the grass at [[Mission Dolores Park]], [[Washington Square (San Francisco)|Washington Square]], and two other city parks.<ref>{{cite news|title=San Francisco parks have social distancing circles on grass|first=Alex|last=Wigglesworth|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=May 22, 2020|access-date=May 25, 2020|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-05-22/social-distancing-circles-drawn-on-grass-at-san-francisco-parks}}</ref> City of Berkeley posted signs with numbers of people allowed on the playgrounds and reminding users to maintain social distancing and limits.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Yelimeli |first1=Supriya |title=Kids, families can finally return to playgrounds in Berkeley |url=https://www.berkeleyside.org/2020/10/16/kids-families-can-finally-return-to-playgrounds-in-berkeley |work=Berkeleyside |date=16 October 2020}}</ref>

The fifth semiannual Viva CalleSJ street festival in [[San Jose, California|San Jose]] had been scheduled for May 17 but was replaced with a virtual tour.<ref>{{cite web|title=Flash Report #101 – COVID-19 Mitigation and Response|publisher=City of San José|date=May 15, 2020|access-date=May 17, 2020|url=https://www.sanjoseca.gov/Home/Components/News/News/1288/4699}}</ref>

===Religion===
{{further|COVID-19 pandemic in California#Effects on religion}}

On March 13, 2020, the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California|Roman Catholic Diocese of San José]] closed all diocesan schools from until at least April 20. It suspended public Masses and [[Dispensation (canon law)|dispense]]d with the obligation to attend Mass from March 14 until further notice.<ref>{{cite web|title=Coronavirus (COVID-19)|publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose in California|date=March 13, 2020|access-date=March 22, 2020|url=https://www.dsj.org/coronavirus/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322114827/https://www.dsj.org/coronavirus/|archive-date=March 22, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland|Diocese of Oakland]] also suspended public Masses on March 16, and the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco|Archdiocese of San Francisco]] and [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa in California|Diocese of Santa Rosa]] followed suit on March 17.<ref>{{cite news|title=COVID-19 Diocesan Responses|publisher=California Catholic Conference|date=May 8, 2020|access-date=May 16, 2020|url=https://www.cacatholic.org/sites/default/files/files/covid-19_diocesan_responses_05.08.20.pdf|archive-date=June 10, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610144720/https://www.cacatholic.org/sites/default/files/files/covid-19_diocesan_responses_05.08.20.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> On March 18, the California Catholic Conference of bishops suspended the public celebration of Mass throughout the state until further notice.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Public Celebration of Mass Suspended throughout California|publisher=California Catholic Conference|date=March 18, 2020|access-date=March 22, 2020|url=https://www.cacatholic.org/mass-suspension|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322134400/https://www.cacatholic.org/mass-suspension|archive-date=March 22, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

On May 23, 2021, the Diocese of Santa Rosa lifted the dispensation from obligation to attend Sunday Mass.<ref>{{cite news|title=Santa Rosa: end of dispensation for Sunday Mass|work=California Catholic Daily|location=San Diego|date=May 18, 2021|access-date=February 13, 2022|url=https://www.cal-catholic.com/santa-rosa-end-of-dispensation-for-sunday-mass/}}</ref> The Archdiocese of San Francisco also lifted the dispensation on June 24,<ref>{{cite letter|subject=Reopening for public Masses, part 13|first=Salvatore J.|last=Cordileone|author-link=Salvatore Cordileone|recipient=Priests in the Archdiocese of San Francisco|publisher=Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco|date=June 14, 2021|access-date=February 13, 2022|url=https://sfarchdiocese.org/re-opening-for-public-masses/}}</ref> followed by the Diocese of Oakland on August 15.<ref>{{cite news|title=Open wide the doors: Welcome home, dear parishioners|first=Michael C.|last=Barber|work=[[The Catholic Voice]]|location=Oakland, California|volume=59|issue=6|date=June 21, 2021|access-date=February 13, 2022|url=https://www.catholicvoiceoakland.org/2021/062121/bishop.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623012110/http://www.catholicvoiceoakland.org/2021/062121/bishop.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=June 23, 2021}}</ref> On February 8, 2022, the Diocese of San José announced that the dispensation would be lifted effective March 6.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lifting of the Dispensation of the Sunday Obligation|first=Oscar|last=Cantú|author-link=Oscar Cantú|publisher=Roman Catholic Diocese of San José in California|date=February 8, 2022|access-date=February 13, 2022|url=https://www.dsj.org/lifting-of-the-dispensation-of-the-sunday-obligation/}}</ref>

===Sports===
{{further|COVID-19 pandemic in California#Effects on sports}}

After Santa Clara County banned all large gatherings larger than 1,000 people for a three-week period beginning March 11, the [[San Jose Sharks]] of the [[NHL]] and the [[Golden State Warriors]] of the [[NBA]] announced that all of their remaining home games of the regular season would be played [[Behind closed doors (sport)|behind closed doors]] with no spectators. With their game on March 12 against the [[Brooklyn Nets]], the Warriors were to be the first professional sports team in the United States to play a home game behind closed doors due to the pandemic, before the NBA [[Suspension of the 2019–20 NBA season|suspended the season]] one day prior.<ref>{{cite news|title=San Jose Sharks to play games without fans|first=Helene|last=Elliott|date=March 12, 2020|work=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=April 7, 2020|url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/hockey/story/2020-03-11/san-jose-sharks-to-play-games-without-fans|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402170747/https://www.latimes.com/sports/hockey/story/2020-03-11/san-jose-sharks-to-play-games-without-fans|archive-date=April 2, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Sports Leagues Bar Fans and Cancel Games Amid Coronavirus Outbreak|first1=Sopan|last1=Deb|first2=Scott|last2=Cacciola|first3=Marc|last3=Stein|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 11, 2020|access-date=April 7, 2020|issn=0362-4331|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/sports/basketball/warriors-coronavirus-fans.html|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408153456/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/sports/basketball/warriors-coronavirus-fans.html|archive-date=April 8, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

Along with a [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]]-area school, [[Archbishop Riordan High School]] and the [[Menlo School]] withdrew from the [[California Interscholastic Federation]] (CIF) Northern California championship tournament after their schools were forced to close.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cifstate.org/landing/index|title=California Interscholastic Federation|website=www.cifstate.org|access-date=March 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217041511/https://cifstate.org/landing/index|archive-date=December 17, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Stanford University announced plans to cut 11 of its 36 varsity sports at the end of the 2020–21 school year, citing a ${{format price|70000000}} deficit due to the pandemic.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stanford Cuts 11 Sports Amid Coronavirus Pandemic|first=Oskar|last=Garcia|work=The New York Times|date=July 8, 2020|access-date=July 8, 2020|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/sports/coronavirus-stanford-cuts.html}}</ref>

==Vaccinations==
[[File:OaklandColiseumMassCOVIDVaccinationSite-California - 50980101333.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Oakland Coliseum]] mass vaccination site in February 2021]]
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="text-align:right; font-size:85%; margin:0"
|+ Vaccinations in Bay Area up to June 6, 2023
|-
!
! style="text-align:right; padding-right:3px;" scope="col" |Vaccinations
! style="text-align:right; padding-right:3px;" scope="col" | Population
|-
!
! style="text-align:right; padding-right:17px; padding-left:3px;" scope="row" | '''3,947,957'''
! style="text-align:right; padding-right:17px; padding-left:3px;" scope="row" | '''7,739,378'''<!--Figure from summing-->
|-
! style="padding:0px 2px;"| [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-coronavirus-cases-tracking-outbreak/santa-clara-county/|title=Santa Clara County coronavirus cases: Tracking the outbreak|author=<!--Not stated-->|website=Los Angeles Times|date=June 6, 2023 }}</ref>
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 842,396
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 1,927,852
|-
! style="padding:0px 2px;"| [[Alameda County, California|Alameda]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-coronavirus-cases-tracking-outbreak/alameda-county/|title=Alameda County coronavirus cases: Tracking the outbreak|author=<!--Not stated-->|website=Los Angeles Times|date=June 6, 2023 }}</ref>
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 841,690
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 1,671,329
|-
! style="padding:0px 2px;"| [[Contra Costa County, California|Contra Costa]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-coronavirus-cases-tracking-outbreak/contra-costa-county/|title=Contra Costa County coronavirus cases: Tracking the outbreak|author=<!--Not stated-->|website=Los Angeles Times|date=June 6, 2023 }}</ref>
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 614,689
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 1,153,526
|-
! style="padding:0px 2px;"| [[San Francisco]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-coronavirus-cases-tracking-outbreak/san-francisco-county/|title=San Francisco County coronavirus cases: Tracking the outbreak|author=<!--Not stated-->|website=Los Angeles Times|date=June 6, 2023 }}</ref>
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 493,749
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 881,549
|-
! style="padding:0px 2px;"| [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-coronavirus-cases-tracking-outbreak/san-mateo-county/|title=San Mateo County coronavirus cases: Tracking the outbreak|author=<!--Not stated-->|website=Los Angeles Times|date=June 6, 2023 }}</ref>
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 422,406
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 766,573
|-
! style="padding:0px 2px;"| [[Sonoma County, California|Sonoma]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-coronavirus-cases-tracking-outbreak/sonoma-county/|title=Sonoma County coronavirus cases: Tracking the outbreak|author=<!--Not stated-->|website=Los Angeles Times|date=June 6, 2023 }}</ref>
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 283,625
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 494,336
|-
! style="padding:0px 2px;"| [[Solano County, California|Solano]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-coronavirus-cases-tracking-outbreak/solano-county/|title=Solano County coronavirus cases: Tracking the outbreak|author=<!--Not stated-->|website=Los Angeles Times|date=June 6, 2023 }}</ref>
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 185,628
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 447,643
|-
! style="padding:0px 2px;"| [[Marin County, California|Marin]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-coronavirus-cases-tracking-outbreak/marin-county/|title=Marin County coronavirus cases: Tracking the outbreak|author=<!--Not stated-->|website=Los Angeles Times|date=June 6, 2023 }}</ref>
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 179,010
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 258,826
|-
! style="padding:0px 2px;"| [[Napa County, California|Napa]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/projects/california-coronavirus-cases-tracking-outbreak/napa-county/|title=Napa County coronavirus cases: Tracking the outbreak|author=<!--Not stated-->|website=Los Angeles Times|date=June 6, 2023 }}</ref>
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 84,764
| style="padding:0px 2px;"| 137,744
|}
The first vaccinations in the Bay Area took place on December 15, 2020, at [[Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital]] after the city received 12,500 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/first-covid-19-vaccinations-in-bay-area-administered-at-san-francisco-hospital/2423905/|title=First COVID-19 Vaccinations in Bay Area Administered at SF Hospital|date=December 15, 2020 }}</ref>

Mass vaccination sites were opened across the region in February 2021. The first three mass vaccination sites were located at the [[Oakland Coliseum]], the [[Moscone Center]] and [[City College of San Francisco|City College]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/moscone-center-becomes-bay-area-mass-covid-vaccination-site/|title=Map: These are the Bay Area's COVID mass vaccination sites|date=February 4, 2021}}</ref>

The [[Santa Clara County Public Health Department]] administered 1.9 million vaccinations, about a third of all vaccinations in the county, at a cost of ${{format price|1000000000}}. At the peak of the pandemic, the department operated one of the largest vaccination sites in the United States, serving about 14,000 patients per day at [[Levi's Stadium]]. Other vaccination sites, including those at the [[Santa Clara County Fairgrounds]] and [[San Antonio Shopping Center]], are scheduled to operate until the end of the public health emergency on February 28, 2023.<ref>{{cite news|title=Santa Clara ends COVID emergency response, closes vaccination sites|first=Aidin|last=Vaziri|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=February 1, 2023|accessdate=February 10, 2023|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/santa-clara-county-to-end-covid-19-emergency-17757924.php}}</ref>

==Environmental impact==
[[File:Friday 9-30 a.m. Commute.jpg|thumb|right|An empty [[Interstate 280 (California)|Interstate 280]] near [[California State Route 85|SR 85]] in [[Cupertino, California|Cupertino]] at 9:30 a.m., during the Friday morning rush hour]]
[[File:Market Street at Montgomery Street, San Francisco, April 27, 2020.jpg|thumb|right|A deserted [[Market Street (San Francisco)|Market Street]] in San Francisco's [[Financial District, San Francisco|Financial District]], 1 p.m., on a weekday afternoon]]

The Bay Area–wide shelter-in-place order resulted in significant a reduction in road traffic volume, the main source of air pollution in the area.<ref name="KQED Stark">{{cite news|title=Bay Area Pollution Way Down, Air District Estimates|first=Kevin|last=Stark|publisher=KQED|date=April 13, 2020|access-date=May 17, 2020|url=https://www.kqed.org/science/1961488/bay-area-traffic-is-down-70-air-district-estimates}}</ref> During the first week after the shelter-in-place order took effect, air pollutant levels fell by one-third year over year, while [[nitrogen dioxide]] levels in the atmosphere dropped by roughly half compared to the previous week.<ref>{{cite news|title=Coronavirus impact: Maps show how much pollution has dropped in the Bay Area since shelter-in-place orders|first=Tim|last=Didion|publisher=[[KGO-TV]]|date=April 7, 2020|access-date=May 12, 2020|url=https://abc7news.com/health/maps-show-how-much-bay-area-pollution-has-dropped-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic/6085217/}}</ref> Traffic on the [[San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]] fell by about 40% compared to two weeks earlier.<ref>{{cite news|title=Traffic and Pollution Plummet as U.S. Cities Shut Down for Coronavirus|first1=Brad|last1=Plumer|first2=Nadja|last2=Popovich|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 22, 2020|access-date=May 13, 2020|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/22/climate/coronavirus-usa-traffic.html}}</ref> By April, traffic in the Bay Area had decreased by 70%.<ref>{{cite news|title=The coronavirus will change our lives, but the environment could see benefits|first=Kurtis|last=Alexander|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=April 6, 2020|access-date=May 13, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/environment/article/The-coronarvirus-will-change-our-lives-but-the-15172859.php}}</ref> An 11% reduction in shipping traffic at the [[Port of Oakland]] could have also contributed to air quality improvements.<ref name="KQED Stark" /> An assistant professor of [[earth system science]] at [[Stanford University]] estimated that improved Bay Area air quality during the shutdown would result in roughly 10 fewer deaths caused by air pollution per week.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bay Area air quality improving as people stay home|first=Paul|last=Rogers|work=The Mercury News|location=San Jose, California|date=March 23, 2020|access-date=May 13, 2020|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/23/coronavirus-bay-area-air-quality-improving-as-people-stay-home/}}</ref> According to [[Save the Bay]], the decrease in traffic volume also led to decreased water and noise pollution in and around [[San Francisco Bay]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Coronavirus impact: Reduced traffic means lower water pollution levels in San Francisco Bay|first=Tim|last=Didion|publisher=[[KGO-TV]]|date=April 21, 2020|access-date=May 17, 2020|url=https://abc7news.com/coronavirus-pollution-levels-reduced-sf-bay-area-water-san-francisco/6120442/}}</ref> However, traffic volumes and congestion may return to normal levels or worse after the shelter-in-place orders are lifted, due to the avoidance of public transportation.<ref>{{cite news|title=Coronavirus Takes Heavy Toll on Public Transit|first=Dan|last=Brekke|work=KQED Newsroom|publisher=[[KQED (TV)|KQED-TV]]|date=May 15, 2020|access-date=May 17, 2020|url=https://www.kqed.org/news/11818583/ca-budget-deficit-regional-transit-woes-future-of-museums}}</ref>

Disposable, non-biodegradable [[Face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic|face masks]] and latex gloves used during the pandemic have been discarded on sidewalks and in lakes, raising concern about new sources of litter going into the San Francisco Bay at a time when fewer volunteers are available to pick up litter.<ref>{{cite news|title=Face masks are protection from coronavirus, but in SF they're doing double duty as litter|first=Phil|last=Matier|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 17, 2020|access-date=June 7, 2020|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/philmatier/article/Face-masks-are-protection-from-coronavirus-but-15273170.php}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Coronavirus Trash: Face Masks, Plastic Gloves Discarded on Streets|first=Melissa|last=Colorado|publisher=KNTV|date=April 13, 2020|access-date=June 7, 2020|url=https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/coronavirus/coronavirus-trash-face-masks-plastic-gloves-discarded-on-streets/2272155/}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Template:COVID-19 pandemic data/United States/California/Santa Clara County medical cases chart|Santa Clara County medical cases chart]]
* [[Anti-Mask League of San Francisco]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}

Official COVID-19 portals:
* [http://www.acphd.org/2019-ncov.aspx Alameda County Public Health Department]
* [https://www.cityofberkeley.info/covid19/ Berkeley Public Health Division]
* [https://www.coronavirus.cchealth.org/ Contra Costa Health Services] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200317212647/https://www.coronavirus.cchealth.org/ |date=March 17, 2020 }}
* [https://coronavirus.marinhhs.org/ Marin Health and Human Services]
* [https://www.countyofnapa.org/2739/Coronavirus Napa County Public Health]
* [https://hhsa.cosb.us/publichealth/communicable-disease/coronavirus/ San Benito County Public Health Division] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512233900/https://hhsa.cosb.us/publichealth/communicable-disease/coronavirus/ |date=May 12, 2020 }}
* [https://www.sfdph.org/dph/alerts/coronavirus.asp San Francisco Department of Public Health]
* [https://www.smchealth.org/coronavirus San Mateo County Health]
* [https://www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/home.aspx Santa Clara County Public Health]
* [https://www.santacruzhealth.org/HSAHome/HSADivisions/PublicHealth/CommunicableDiseaseControl/CoronavirusHome.aspx Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency]
* [http://www.solanocounty.com/depts/ph/ncov.asp Solano County Public Health]
* [https://socoemergency.org/ Sonoma County Emergency and Preparedness Information]

Community-based COVID-19 websites:
* [https://panda.baybrigades.org/ Bay Area Pandemic Dashboard]

{{#invoke:COVID-19 pandemic|}}
{{COVID-19 pandemic in the United States}}

[[Category:COVID-19 pandemic in California|San Francisco]]
[[Category:COVID-19 pandemic in the United States by city|San Francisco]]
[[Category:History of the San Francisco Bay Area]]

Location: San Francisco Bay Area, California, U.S.

First outbreak: Wuhan, Hubei, China

Index case: Santa Clara County

Arrival date: January 5, 2020

Confirmed cases: 1,942,236 in 9 counties

Recovered: 572,344 in 5 counties

Deaths: 11,285 in 9 counties