Bay Area labs pare down to essentials following shelter-in-place directives

Despite a carve-out for biopharma companies in Tuesday’s shelter-in-place orders, San Francisco Bay Area life sciences labs are winding down research activities, pressing pause on a broad swath of preclinical activities in the U.S.’s second-largest biotech hub.

Seven Bay Area counties issued emergency directives for residents to shelter-in-place to limit the spread of COVID-19: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Francisco and San Mateo. The orders went into effect Tuesday and will remain in place until April 7, or until they are “extended, rescinded, superseded, or amended in writing” by county health officers...