Lake Tahoe cities are seeing an increase of visitors despite the restrictions put into place by Governor Gavin Newsom due to the coronavirus pandemic, reports KRNV.
Former Powder Magazine editor, Mike Rogge, told KRNV that his neighborhood is seeing visitation numbers he usually sees near the 4th of July.
A resident in Placer County told the news channel that ordinarily only around a third of his neighbors are full-time residents and that the full neighborhood he is seeing right now is down to second homeowners, or short term rentals. This goes against Governor Newsom’s Executive Order asking residents to stay in their primary residence, at the specific request of many counties that only full-time residents remain.
- Related: South Lake Tahoe, CA Issues ORDER TO STOP TRAVEL to South Lake Tahoe After “Swell” of Non-Residents
Placer County issued the following guidelines for when short term rentals would be legitimate:
- To provide COVID-19 mitigation and containment measures. For example isolation and quarantine or the housing of displaced persons or the homeless
- To provide housing for essential critical infrastructure workers
- For use by the property owner and his/her immediate family members
So far in South Lake Tahoe, three citations have been issued to people not complying with Governor Newsom’s directive. Spokesman Chris Fiorewith the City of South Lake Tahoe said renters will be warned to leave and if they do not, they will be charged $1,000 per day.
Last week Placer County Health Officer Dr. Aimee Sisson issued a new order that clarifies, strengthens, and extends the terms of the previous directive to reduce person-to-person contact and increase physical distancing in order to further slow transmission of COVID-19. The new order will be in effect through May 1.
“While the prior directive has been effective, further action is necessary,” Sisson said. “The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 continues to rise. New evidence that people can spread the virus up to three days before developing symptoms is concerning. Right now, our best tool to slow the spread of the virus is to continue to stay home.”
The new stay-at-home order will supersede the previous directive and came into effect at 11:59 p.m. on April 10. It complements the indefinite statewide stay-at-home order issued by Governor Gavin Newsom on March 19. Where a conflict exists between this order and any state public health order related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the most restrictive provision applies.
Like the previous directive, the new order requires people to stay at home except for doing essential activities. Non-essential businesses will remain closed. The new order adds some clarifying language around essential business and activities including:
- Essential businesses that continue to operate facilities must scale down operations to their essential component only.
- Clarity on essential components of businesses such as automotive dealerships, realtors and other service providers are detailed in the order.
- Essential businesses may only assign an employee to work outside the home if the employee cannot perform their job duties from home.
- Essential businesses are expanded to include service providers that enable residential transactions (notaries, title companies, etc.); funeral homes and cemeteries; moving companies, rental car companies and rideshare services that specifically enable essential activities.
- Essential businesses must develop a physical distancing protocol by the end of day April 13, for which a template is provided.
- Use of recreational areas with high-touch equipment or that encourage gathering is prohibited. This includes playgrounds, dog parks, picnic areas, and similar recreational areas. These areas must be closed to public use.
- Use of shared public recreational facilities such as golf courses, tennis and basketball courts, pools, and rock walls is prohibited. These facilities must be closed for recreational use.
- Sports requiring people to share a ball or other equipment must be limited to people in the same household.
- Funerals are limited to no more than 10 people attending.
- Moving residences is permitted, but only if it is not possible to defer an already planned move, the move is necessary for health and safety reasons, or the move is necessary to remain housed or retain employment.
- The definition of essential travel is clarified to include travel for parental custody arrangements, travel to avoid domestic violence or child abuse/neglect, travel to manage after-death arrangements and burial as well as other situations.
Placer County officially the County of Placer, is a county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 348,432. The county seat is Auburn. Placer County is included in the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area. It is in both the Sacramento Valley and the Sierra Nevada regions, in what is known as the Gold Country. The county stretches roughly 65 miles from Sacramento’s suburbs at Roseville to the Nevada border and the shore of Lake Tahoe.
