City of West Sacramento

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Heath Order - Face Coverings
Health Amendment - Outdoor Activities
Click here for our new 'Roadmap to Recovery' page for more information and documents

(Woodland, CA) – Yolo County has two new announcements today; a new health order that requires wearing a face covering in public and an amendment to the current Shelter in Place order that now allows certain activities to resume. Both of these are part of an emerging draft ‘Roadmap to Recovery’ response that gradually facilitates a path forward through the current COVID-19 pandemic. The broader Shelter in Place order that ends May 1st will be extended on or before May 1st and shared with the public once finalized. Residents are still required to stay at home and practice social distancing as much as possible.

'Roadmap to Recovery’ is a proposed strategy to chart a path forward through COVID-19 that is fluid and gradual, continues to protect public health, and allows the County and cities to begin reopening various businesses and organizations. The draft Roadmap to Recovery document was released on Thursday and will be considered by the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, April 28th. A multi-agency staff team comprised of the cities, County and Yoche Dehe tribal representatives are helping guide development of the draft document which includes seeking feedback that can be shared with the Board of Supervisors. The intent is to have the Board of Supervisors refine the document at their meeting and then to have it inform future iterations of the Shelter in Place order. The draft document is meant to be a living document which means that it will evolve over time in response to new information, data and feedback. Yolo County will be utilizing guiding principles, key indicators, and continuous evaluation to help guide decision-making in the foreseeable future. Some key indicators include: community-based cases, deaths, hospitalizations, and overall healthcare capacity. There is flexibility in this Roadmap to move forward and release additional services or business (if indicators show improvement) or backwards (if indicators show regression).

A supporting tactic in the County’s ‘Roadmap to Recovery’ is a new heath order requiring members of the public and workers to wear a face covering. This order will be effective immediately but not enforceable until April 27th at 8:00 a.m. The purpose of this order is to provide additional public health protection in settings that present a risk of COVID-19 transmission. This order is informed by the Centers for Disease Control, scientific evidence, and best practices regarding the most effective approaches to slow the transmission of communicable diseases, such as COVID-19. Residents are still required to stay at home as much as possible, practice social distancing of at least 6 feet, and use other public health measures, such as frequent hand washing, covering coughs, and staying home when sick.

Face coverings must be worn in public settings, such as:

• Waiting in line to go inside a store
• Shopping at a store
• Picking up food at a restaurant
• On public transportation (or waiting for it)
• In a taxi or rideshare vehicle
• Seeking healthcare
• Going into facilities allowed to stay open
• Working an essential job that interacts with the public
• Children 2 years and older should be encouraged to wear a mask when around others closer than 6 feet. When they do, they must be supervised by an adult.

Face coverings are NOT required to be worn by people who are:

• At home.
• In the car alone or with members of their own household.
• Children under the age of 2 years old due to the risk of suffocation.
• Outdoors, walking, hiking, bicycling or running. However, people must comply with social distancing during these activities, including maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from other people. People should also have a face covering readily accessible.
• Residents with a health condition whose medical doctor has advised against wearing a face covering and can provide documentation.

Businesses must:

• Require their employees, contractors, owners, and volunteers to wear a face covering at the workplace and when performing work off-site;
• Inform customers about the need to wear a face covering, including posting signs and advising those in line or in the store;
• Take reasonable steps to keep people who are not wearing a face covering from entering their business, and
• Refuse service to anyone not wearing a face covering.

Individual violators are unlikely to be cited however essential businesses and other enterprises will be expected to enforce this order. Everyone has an opportunity to contribute to public health and the welfare of our community by following this health order. Individuals that choose not to wear face coverings may encounter difficulties such as being refused access to public transit and essential businesses. There are several options for face coverings as long as they cover the nose and mouth. Face coverings can be made from a variety of cloth materials, such as bandanas, scarves, t-shirts, sweatshirts, or towels.

Additionally, Yolo County is adding an amendment to the current Shelter in Place order allowing select community activities to resume that have been assessed to be low-risk for the spread of COVID-19. The following activities will now be allowed effective immediately, as long all activities adhere to social distancing, face covering guidance (if applicable), and good hygiene practices:

• Golf Courses
• Gun/Hunting Clubs/Archery
• Boat Ramps
• Fishing

Each of these activities are not strictly prohibited by the State Order. County staff and law enforcement will closely monitor outdoor activities over the first 14 days to ensure adherence to the public health order. It must be noted that any and all activities, dates, and/or roll backs may be altered at any stage if there are indications of an increase in public health risk due to these activities. Gatherings still not allowed.

Visit the County’s NEW webpage on ‘Roadmap to Recovery’ at: www.yolocounty.org/coronavirus-roadmap for the face covering health order, the amendment to the Shelter in Place order that allows these community activities to resume, infographics, and other supporting documents. Residents can also call Yolo 2-1-1 for resource information. For additional updates follow Yolo County on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/YoloCounty/ or Twitter at: http://twitter.com/YoloCountyCA.  

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