Sacramento County Extends Stay-At-Home Order Through May 22

Sacramento County extended its order for residents to stay at home except for essential activities through May 22, health officials announced Wednesday.

The county’s current order was set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on May 1. The extended order also loosened and clarified some restrictions from the original order. These changes take effect May 1.

Under the new order, residents are now allowed to leave the house for medical or dental care for chronic conditions or preventative services. Hospitals and health care providers can now reschedule appointments for care that was previously considered not urgent and canceled including elective procedures and preventative services like immunizations and other chronic conditions care.

The county is also now allowing non-contact recreational facilities to open for activities that include the use of shared equipment, so long as the equipment is disinfected appropriately and social distancing requirements are followed. This means that tennis courts and shooting and archery ranges will now be allowed to open, and residents will be allowed to participate in disc golf and boating.

However, the order now explicitly prohibits contact sports or activities, including basketball, football and soccer, outside of residences.

“While there has been some relaxation of rules as they relate to recreational activities, it is absolutely vital that we maintain social distancing,” Sacramento County Director of Health Services Dr. Peter Beilenson wrote in a news release.

Beilenson also wrote that the intent of the order is to make sure most people stay home as much as they can, while still allowing essential services to continue. He added that the current stay-at-home order has been “a significant factor” in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in Sacramento County.

As of April 29, Sacramento County has had 1,068 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 42 residents have died from complications of the disease. You can see the number of confirmed cases and deaths in every California county in our COVID-19 tracker here.

Residential viewings for rentals, leases and home sales are also now allowed under the new order when the occupant is still residing there. However, the visit must still be by appointment only with no more than two visitors at a time, who must reside in the same household, and one individual showing the unit.

Food trucks have also been added to the list of essential businesses allowed to remain open under the new order.