El Dorado County health official orders end to all nonessential travel to Lake Tahoe Basin

Submitted by paula on Fri, 04/03/2020 - 7:25pm

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Those living in the Lake Tahoe Basin have experienced a large number of visitors and non-fulltime residents coming into the area, and today the El Dorado County Public Health Officer issued a no-travel order.

Dr. Nancy Williams issued the order to start immediately and will remain in place until April 30, 2020, unless extended or modified.

“Visitors whom we enthusiastically welcome during normal times are further impacting an already decreased availability of essential supplies and food, and putting the entire Lake Tahoe population at greater risk of being able to receive proper health care,” Williams said.

“It’s time to take this very strong message to those who are not already residing in South Lake Tahoe: if you have no essential function and you are here, please go home; if you have no essential function and you are not here, please stay home," added Williams.

In the order, Williams states second homeowners are not to be in Lake Tahoe, and if they already are, they need to go back to their primary residence.

Whereas, travel for owners to occupy their second homes is interpreted to be nonessential; and Whereas, continued inappropriate travel into the Tahoe Basin for nonessential purposes is still occurring; and

Whereas, visitors further impact an already decreased availability of essential supplies and food at grocery stores and pharmacies; and

Whereas, there is insufficient critical healthcare infrastructure and resources, including hospital beds, ventilators, and workers to adequately treat mass numbers of patients concurrently as might be needed if the virus continues to spread at current rates; and

Whereas, residents and healthcare facilities have been seriously impacted in other resort areas in the U.S. that are similar in nature to the Lake Tahoe region, including numerous counties in Colorado and Blaine County, Idaho by visitors having imported COVID-19 infections into their communities.

A copy of the Order can be found here.