Coronavirus Update: California Governor Issues Statewide “Stay at Home” Order
March 19, 2020
By Lauren Mendelsohn
Today, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a statewide order asking Californians to stay home except for essential needs in response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
This action follows the lead taken by numerous cities and counties across Northern California who issued “shelter in place” orders in the past week, including Sonoma County which we discussed in our previous blog post here. Other counties that took similar action recently include Mendocino and San Francisco, among others.
Governor Newsom’s order is different from the county orders in that it orders all individuals to stay at home “except as needed to maintain continuity of operations of the federal critical infrastructure sectors.” There are 16 sectors listed as “critical infrastructure,” including:
- Chemical
- Commercial Facilities
- Communications
- Critical Manufacturing
- Dams
- Defense Industrial
- Emergency Services
- Energy
- Financial Services
- Food and Agriculture
- Government Facilities
- Healthcare and Public Health
- Information Technology
- Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste
- Transportation Systems
- Waste and Wastewater
Governor Newsom has “ordere[d] that Californians working in these 16 critical infrastructure sectors may continue their work because of the importance of these sectors to Californian’s health and well-being.” In addition, the order says that the “supply chain must continue, and Californians must have access to such necessities as food, prescriptions and health care.” Social distancing must be observed by anyone leaving their home or place of residence to engage in essential activities.
As to where cannabis businesses fit into all of this, there are a few potential options (in particular, Commercial Facilities, Agriculture, and Healthcare), though it’s still a little unclear. In most of the other local and state actions that preceded this, cannabis businesses were deemed to be “essential businesses” either implicitly or explicitly. We’re waiting to see whether the Governor provides additional clarity for this industry during these uncertain times.
This is a developing story — please check back for updates.
This information is provided as a public educational service and is not intended as legal advice. For more information about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on your cannabis business, contact the Law Offices of Omar Figueroa at (707) 829-0215 or info@omarfigueroa.com.