COVID-19 Update: Port of Oakland, Oakland International Airport will remain open

Cited as essential services exempt from shelter-in-place order

Oakland, CA - The Port of Oakland and Oakland International Airport will remain operational despite an Alameda County shelter-in-place order.  Both facilities are essential services exempt from the order, the Port said today.

The Port’s announcement followed shelter-in-place orders issued by six Bay Area counties.  The orders are intended to slow the spread of coronavirus. Under the restrictions, only essential businesses are permitted to remain open.  Other employers must send workers home until the order is lifted.

The Port of Oakland is one of the 10 busiest container seaports in the U.S.  It handles more than 2.5 million cargo containers annually, transacting more than $100 billion in global trade.

The Port’s Oakland International Airport is the third-busiest airport in Northern California.  Close to 14 million passengers a year fly in and out of Oakland.

“Our operations are critical to the health, safety, infrastructure and economy of our region,” said Port of Oakland Executive Director Danny Wan.  “We will continue to function as a vital gateway for global trade and transportation while doing everything possible to protect our employees, customers and business partners.”

The Port said marine terminals would continue to load and unload cargo from ships.  The Airport would go on with its daily schedule of inbound and departing flights, the Port said.

The Port said it would adopt a resilience plan to staff its operations while minimizing employee exposure to coronavirus.  The Port said it has received no reports of employees, customers or business partners testing positive for coronavirus.

According to the Port, airlines, shipping lines and marine terminal operators have said they’ll continue operations in Oakland.  The Port was meeting with longshore union officials to determine what staffing levels could be expected on the docks. 

The Port said it would continue with an accelerated sanitization regimen at Oakland International Airport to protect travelers.  It said it was conferring with marine terminal operators on how best to sanitize seaport operations.  The Port said it would introduce social distancing protocols at its facilities to curb the coronavirus spread.