Coronavirus has Silicon Valley on unprecedented restrictions, empty shelves, quiet streets
LA TimesOn the night after a historic push in the San Francisco Bay Area to shrink and even end all gatherings to rein in the spreading coronavirus, the region seemed to go into hiding. And at Katana Sushi & Sake in Sunnyvale, normally bustling on a Friday night, just one-third of the tables were occupied — making it easy for diners to stay far more than six feet away from any other table This is what Silicon Valley looks like amid an unprecedented canceling of public gatherings ordered by public health officials because of the virus. Unprecedented restrictions Calling the coronavirus outbreak “one of the most historic public health challenges of our time,” the Santa Clara County health officer on Friday issued an aggressive ban on public gatherings of 35 or more unless organizers warn attendees that it poses a heightened risk of infection and banning all public and private gatherings of 100 or more. With the virus hitting Silicon Valley hard, the order by Dr. Sara Cody was the most stringent ban on public gatherings across California. Santa Clara County requirements There are five requirements that hosts of public and private gatherings between 35 and 100 people must comply with in Santa Clara County: Advertisement