Sacramento County Sheriff deputies and Rocklin, California Police, were seen on a local street last Thursday ordering people to get inside.
The people who live on the block were unclear why there was a forced quarantine until news came that the first coronavirus patient to die in California lived on that block.
A 71-year-old man had died on Wednesday, one day before the initiation of the order by the health official to “enforce regulations requiring strict isolation, or quarantine if the action is necessary for the protection of the public health.”
Local WIBW reported on The Placer County Health Department’s brief statement shortly after the police presence:
“Law enforcement partners are currently responding to enforce a health officer’s order. We cannot share any additional information to protect patient confidentiality.”
A resident of Rocklin commented on the secrecy in which the order to stay inside was given and carried out:
“I understand the sensitivity of the situation, but of course, more information is always better.”
Another concerned citizen tweeted:
Police began blocking access to the home of California’s first fatality attributed to the coronavirus in Rocklin on Thursday as worried neighbors stood in their yards asking for information.
“That’s close to home,” said one neighbor as a police helicopter circled above.— Melody Gutierrez (@MelodyGutierrez) March 6, 2020
The Placer County Health Department didn’t go into any homes during the ordered quarantine, and officers eventually let residents come and go.
Local news reported on the death:
