Childcare is explicitly listed as an essential service :/

In SF it's actually a bit more nuanced than that:

https://sf.gov/stay-home-except-essential-needs "Are nannies permitted to be used? What about other in-home child care? In some instances. If the nanny provides medical/health care for the child, then yes. If the nanny lives with you, then yes. Otherwise, nannies not necessary for medical care are not permitted. Also, parents required to work away from home for essential services may need in-home child care, which is permitted."

The actual text of the law seems to contradict this though. From: https://www.sfdph.org/dph/alerts/files/HealthOrderC19-07-%20...

f. For the purposes of this Order, “Essential Businesses” means: xviii. Home-based care for seniors, adults, or children;

h. For the purposes of this Order, “Essential Travel” includes travel for any of the following purposes. ii. Travel to care for elderly, minors, dependents, persons with disabilities, or other vulnerable persons.

The Santa Clara(?) one that I read had some other specifics about daycare. IIRC the kids have to be in groups of 12 or fewer that aren't mixed around from day to day, and anyone in contact with one group can't be in contact with any other groups.

I have been following this and the wording here appears to have changed in the last couple of days. The wording you quoted has been removed.

I just checked in on this and noticed that it seemed like the FAQ language changed as well. I can't find the old wording anymore, and the new wording has done a 180

That kind of defeats the purpose of "shelter in place", doesn't it? With so many asymptomatic carriers and children being germ magnets, those babysitters are going to become a very effective vector for spreading the virus.

Not everyone is capable of going without babysitters though. I see nothing wrong with it for exceptional cases.

Then you either have people whose situation worsens due to coronavirus illness or people whose situation worsens since they can't earn money and instead need to focus on child care. Pick your poison.

I'll pick the one that isn't self-replicating and rapidly spreading undetected.

In fact, we've already cancelled our babysitter's visits. She's a nurse-in-training, so she understands.

The latter doesn’t put the entire population at risk.

I assume that this is exactly why Facebook gives that money to its people. The fewer childcare workers are required to help around while also spreading the virus, the better.

I think the Bay Area order mandates small and unchanging groups of kids.