As shelter-in-place directives and orders took effect across northern counties in California, contractors and local and state officials are trying to decipher the definition of “essential” in the unprecedented response to curtail COVID-19.

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Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Sacramento, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo and Sonoma counties all issued shelter-in-place directives or orders. An orders requires residents to stay home except to obtain or provide essential services, which currently includes construction affecting public works and infrastructure, while directives are a recommendation.

旧金山的shelter-in-place条例允许继续建设公共工程，住房，机场运营，水，污水，燃气，电气，炼油，道路和高速公路，公共交通，固体废物收集和清除，互联网和电信。工作必须在可能的情况下遵守社会疏远标准。

March 17 was business as usual for most Bay Area construction firms, says Peter Tateishi, CEO of Associated General Contractors of California, but he said many are confused by the directive’s lack of specifics and are questioning whether governments will clarify the definition of essential work.

此外，关于现场订单是否允许工人越过城市和县线的疑问，就可以在具有不同指令的地区工作。

Generally, residents who live in a county subject to shelter-in-place orders must stay home, except to travel to essential services, including work that provides one of those services, says Daniel Engler, partner at San Francisco’s Cox Castle and Nicholson who specializes in real estate transaction law.

“It’s fairly case specific and business specific, so it’s hard to answer generally – for any particular business or industry or job site, you need to figure out exactly what is being done and what is permissible or not permissible under the order and go from there,” says Engler.

“雇主正在做出判断，” Tateishi说。加利福尼亚州成员的AGC担心城市允许员工降低或关闭企业可能不必不可少的企业导致可能的项目延迟的影响。

Dave Valentine, project development director for contractor Hensel Phelps in Northern California, says the majority of its work in affected counties falls under essential services for public works projects, including those at airports, hospitals and a new county emergency operations center.

“Our job sites are working on a case-by-case basis, dependent on whether the projects fall under ‘essential services,’” says Valentine. “We know the environment will continue to evolve, but as long as we effectively communicate with our people, clients, design partners and trade partners, we will adjust and adapt to whatever comes our way.”

洛杉矶市长埃里克·加塞蒂（Eric Garcetti）在3月17日的新闻发布会上说，现场秩序对于这座城市而言并不是迫在眉睫，该建设至关重要，并且将继续。市长办公室没有立即回答问题，以提出其他评论。

旧金山市长办公室和公共工程部门的官员没有立即发表评论以进行澄清。