Coronavirus Update: Warmer Bay Area Weather Prompting People To Seek Relief From Cabin Fever
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- After five weeks into the shelter-in-place order, it seems cabin fever is kicking in and more people are heading out. Whether you're walking or driving, it's not hard to see that people are out and about in the Bay Area, and most people would argue traffic has gone up in recent days.
"It's a little concerning that there was such an increase in traffic between a couple of days ago and today," said San Francisco resident Michael Mandel, who was driving to a market to buy groceries.
"I can definitely also see an increase in drivers as well on the road. It's not as light as it was four weeks ago," said resident Peter Stern, who was jogging Thursday in Golden Gate Park.
There are no official numbers to back up people's observations. But some people say they're starting to encounter traffic in their communities again.
"Last week, week before, there was virtually no traffic encountered when you go out. And certainly today, there was probably a 50% increase in traffic," said Mandel.
At Golden Gate Park, we noticed a lot of sunbathers, joggers, and cyclists.
"You can see today, the numbers are definitely increasing," said Stern. "I'd probably say there's 10 times more people here now than there were a month ago."
"We are heading into better weather. So we are seeing with better weather, you're going to see, you know, more people craving a little bit of outdoor time," said San Francisco Recreation and Parks General Manager Phil Ginsburg.
He reminded people as long as they practice social distancing and walk to their local parks, they're not violating the health order. But Ginsburg does worry people will become complacent.
"Not perfect. But I think by and large, people are trying to do the right thing," said Ginsburg. "And what you might be seeing is a whole lot of people trying to do the right thing maybe at the same time."
On the freeway, we're noticed afternoon traffic leaving from San Francisco to Oakland on the Bay Bridge Thursday, a sight we haven't seen in a few weeks.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission monitors all Bay Area bridges except for the Golden Gate Bridge. Their numbers don't show an upward trend in the last month, suggesting while regional traffic is still stable, local traffic might be increasing.
"It's getting nicer now and I think people just want to do what they can to get outside and release some of the energy," said Stern.
Aside from nice weather, some believe as the health order drags out longer, the stay at home order is starting to wear out some people.
