The Bay Area shelter-in-place order went into effect ten days ago, on March 17. Â The tough, but necessary mandate has transformed a once bustling city into one in lockdown mode. Lone joggers make their way down deserted thoroughfares, signs in the windows of small businesses warn of overcrowding and whole areas are cordoned off from the public, including playgrounds. People who venture out for much-needed walks wear protective masks and are cautious about getting too close to fellow cabin-fever sufferers; others stand in line to buy groceries, adhering to makeshift social distancing markers. It’s a new reality, one we are going to need to get used to.
Someone marked the sidewalk outside Berkeley Bowl East with dots and hearts to show the distance needed for social distancing. Photo, taken on March 25: Pete RososA Safeway pharmacist wears a respirator while at work on March 25. Photo: Pete RososAt Magnani’s in North Berkeley, there is a five-person limit in the store. Photo, taken on March 25: Pete RososCaution tape around the play structures at Berkeley’s Grove Park on March 25. Photo: Pete RososA Whole Foods employee hands over a disinfected basket to a shopper entering the Telegraph Avenue store on March 25. Photo: Pete RososGrove Park: empty tennis courts in the foreground and empty basketball courts in the background. Photo, taken on March 25: Pete RososTilden Little Farm during shelter-in-place order, on March 23. Photo: Nancy RubinA water fountain at Tilden Little Farm during shelter-in-place order, on March 23. Photo: Nancy Rubin
Afternoon traffic on I-80 is comparatively light, as seen from the University Avenue pedestrian overpass on March 20. Photo: Pete Rosos
An empty AC Transit bus at a Bancroft Way stop near UC Berkeley on March 20. Photo: Pete RososThe shelves where paper towels should be at Safeway on Shattuck Avenue, March 25. Photo: Pete RososA lone jogger heads up Bancroft Way towards UC Berkeley on March 20. Photo: Pete RososThe bulk foods section at the Shattuck Avenue Safeway is out of service. Photo, taken on March 25: Pete RososA homeless person parks their shopping cart over a steam vent by the Cal campus on March 22. Photo: Pete RososThe empty schoolyard at Sylvia Mendez Elementary School during the shelter-in-place order. Photo: Pete RososA lone figure in a hazmat suit crosses University Avenue (at Shattuck Avenue) on March 22. Photo: Pete RososSeabreeze on the Berkeley Marina is closed and boarded up. Photo, taken on March 18: Pete RososAfternoon commute in downtown Berkeley on March 20. Photo: Pete RososWatching seagulls at Civic Center Park in downtown Berkeley on March 20. Photo: Pete Rosos
