Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a new statewide order this evening requiring residents to stay at home or at their place of residence except to get food, care for a relative or friend, get necessary health care, or go to an essential job. The order goes into effect tonight; no end date has been set at this time. Anyone who does leave their house should maintain a social distance of at least six feet.
The governor’s order outlines several sectors deemed as critical and states that employees who need to leave their residence for jobs required to maintain continuity of operations of these sectors may do so. Similar to the order issued by the public health official for Santa Cruz County, institutions of higher learning, such as UC Santa Cruz, are among the critical functions identified in the governor’s order.
The March 16 campus message remains in effect. Only those employees who must be on campus to maintain critical operations should come to the campus until April 7th, or longer if the governor’s order remains in effect past that date.
Other critical services that will remain open under the statewide and county of Santa Cruz orders, include:
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Gas stations
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Pharmacies
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Food: Grocery stores, farmers markets, food banks, convenience stores, take-out and delivery restaurants
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Banks
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Laundromats/laundry services
The safety and well-being of our campus community continues to be our highest priority, and I want to thank all of our employees who are working tirelessly to maintain the essential operations of our campus during this very challenging time.
