Shelter-in-place orders are a prelude to Martial Law

Shelter-in-place orders are a prelude to Martial Law

By Lynda Carson - March 17, 2020

Oakland - As of midnight on March 17, 2020, shelter-in-place orders were instituted in seven California Counties during the next three weeks that include the City of Oakland, for a combined combination of 6.7 million people.

Reportedly, this is to protect the public health and safety from the spread of the coronavirus and Covid-19 by restricting people’s movements and activities. The health orders being issued by the affected counties requires the local sheriff or chief of police to “ensure Compliance” as a means to safeguard the health of the public. Officers may write citations for those who fail to comply with the shelter-in-place orders.

People are presently allowed to leave their homes and apartments for essential reasons such as buying medicine, groceries, or to take a walk to get some fresh air and exercise. People are required to remain at least six feet apart from other humans, and are advised to avoid shaking hands, and to cover their mouths in the event of coughs or sneezes.

In an email from Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin it states, “Today, the City of Berkeley’s Health Officer joined health officers from six Bay Area counties in announcing a Shelter in Place Order, effective at 12:01AM on Tuesday, March 17th and continuing through to Tuesday, April 7th at 11:59PM.

• Read the Shelter in Place Order here

• Read the FAQs on the Order here

• Read my Op-Ed on Berkeleyside on COVID-19

The order limits activity, travel and business functions to only the most essential needs. The guidance comes after substantial input from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and best practices from other health officials around the world.

What is defined as an essential need? Section 10 of the Order provides definitions on what businesses will remain open and what types of travel are acceptable. This includes grocery stores, healthcare facilities, pharmacies, gas stations, home supply stores, banks, and laundromats. People will be able to walk and exercise outside, as long as they practice social distancing and remain at least six feet away from others.

Essential government functions will continue, including first responders, emergency management personnel, emergency dispatchers, and law enforcement. Other government functions or offices may be subject to reduced schedules or may be closed as part of the effort to fight the spread of COVID-19. City Commission meetings have been postponed, and the City Council will go on recess after its March 17th meeting until April 14th. 

We are facing an unprecedented threat to our community. And it's a threat that requires our community to answer with an unprecedented response. What we do today will ensure our healthcare system has the capacity to respond tomorrow, and that will literally save lives. This shelter in place order will allow us to take the necessary precautions to help flatten the curve. Our collective action has the power to slow the virus and maintain a healthy community.

These are trying times, but for over 140 years the City of Berkeley has been a force in times of struggle. We've fought for civil rights, human rights, peace, and so much more. This is a new fight for all of us. But as always, the Berkeley community is its strongest when we stand united.”


According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA):

“Phases Evacuation and shelter-in-place operations occur in five phases: mobilization, evacuation and shelter-in-place, impact, displacement/mass care, and re-entry. Used in conjunction with evacuation and shelter-in-place zones, phases provide a construct to move people to safety or have them shelter-in-place. Phases help jurisdictions plan, organize, respond, and coordinate evacuation and shelter-in-place strategies, messages, tasks, and decisions. Phases may differ across zones that face unique hazards and considerations, may not occur at all, or may occur in any order based on incident realities. For instance, during no-notice events, the impact phase, mobilization phase, and evacuation and shelter-in-place phase may be compressed or occur simultaneously, depending on incident specifics.

• Mobilization: Begins with the identification of a threat or hazard that could lead to an evacuation or shelter-in-place order. The first activity is initial notification of people, systems, and resources to establish incident command and management structures. Emergency management officials make coordinated decisions for protective actions and priorities, disseminating clear evacuation messaging to the public. Mobilization will likely happen concurrently with other phases for no-notice events and low-notice events.

• Evacuation and Shelter-In-Place: Begins when a threat requires evacuation or shelter-inplace operations, either following or concurrent with mobilization phase activities, depending on incident notice. For no-notice events, this is the first phase and mobilization may happen both outside and within the impact area as part of the response. This phase includes implementing the protective actions of evacuation and shelter-in-place orders, which will vary depending on the size and scope of the incident. This phase may be used in advance of the impact phase for notice events (e.g., hurricane) or after the impact phase for no-notice or low-notice events (e.g., earthquake, terrorist attack) to meet incident objectives and protect life and property.

• Impact: This phase begins when jurisdictions start to see adverse impacts on operations. During this phase, for notice events, jurisdictions work to secure facilities, people, and equipment and clear and close public transit to minimize the impact of the hazard. Within the impact phase, the “zero hour” marks the time needed to ensure the safety of first responders as the hazard makes impact, and it is the designated point in time when it is no longer safe for responders to continue operations.

• Displacement/Mass Care: If evacuees must leave their home jurisdiction, they must remain in the host jurisdiction until their community is safe. Mass care is mobilized and conducts operations throughout an incident to establish shelters and provide other services, but greater emphasis is placed on these activities during the Mass Care phase. During this phase, the evacuating jurisdictions communicate with the host jurisdictions to coordinate numbers and types of evacuees, shelters for them, and potential length of evacuation. Not every evacuation necessitates a robust mass care operation; it is most commonly conducted during long-lasting events. During shelter-in-place operations, mass care may consist of mobile commodity distribution or the establishment of hubs for evacuees to obtain food, water, and information during evacuations that last hours instead of days.

• Re-entry: Incorporates the coordinated movement of evacuees back into a community once the threat or hazard dissipates and the event causing the evacuation ends. In instances where residents may not be able to return to their communities for a longer period, this population is re-located to host areas and returned when it is safe. Re-entry typically marks the transition to recovery activities. This phase may follow the re-entry of first responders, if the threat or hazard was significant enough to require first responders to evacuate, or will begin once first responders have stabilized the area to a point where residents can return.”

According to Wikipedia, Martial Law, “Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civilian functions by a government, especially in response to a temporary emergency such as invasion or major disaster, or in an occupied territory.”

I was in the Philippines during 1972 while Martial Law existed under the Marcos administration. There were soldiers/armed forces on the streets and anyone caught on the streets after midnight was subject to arrest or being shot. At times it was very frightening.

Lynda Carson may be reached at tenantsrule [at] yahoo.com

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