D.C. sent out an alert reminding residents to stay home as much as possible.

Mary Tyler March / WAMU

If you were in D.C. and near your smartphone or someone else’s around 8 p.m. Wednesday, you probably heard loud blaring and buzzing coming from the device.

The message served as an emergency reminder from the District government to stay home during the coronavirus outbreak.

“You have a critical role to play in stopping the spread of COVID-19 in DC,” the alert noted, underscoring the need to maintain social distance as much as possible. To that end, D.C. ordered all “nonessential” businesses—such as clothing retailers and hair salons—to shutter starting at 10 p.m. yesterday and lasting through April 24. (Food purveyors, healthcare providers, bank branches, and other businesses that are considered “essential” are still operating.)

But despite warnings earlier in the day from Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration, the alert surprised many people as they were settling into their evenings.

Was this a shelter-in-place order?

No, says the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. “Shelter in place” usually refers to people being directed not to leave their homes completely, such as during a mass shooting event. “What we are telling people is to only leave your house for essential activities,” Bowser explained at a press briefing.

While a number of jurisdictions around the country have issued more restrictive orders, that hasn’t happened yet in Maryland, Virginia, or D.C.

Wait, I live in D.C. and didn’t get any alert…

This is possible, according to HSEMA, because the system that sends out such alerts (the “Wireless Emergency Alert,” or WEA, system) targets cell towers instead of area codes. “Wireless companies volunteer to participate in WEA,” the agency said Thursday morning. “While most lg providers do, not all do.” The city asked people who missed the message to contact their phone companies.

Other residents reported receiving a somewhat different version of the alert, apparently via the AlertDC system (not WEA).

Um, I actually live in Maryland (or Virginia) and did get an alert. What the heck?

Residents of neighboring Prince George’s County received their own alert, which incorrectly warned in advance that the District’s alert would be a “shelter in place” message. Then, screenshots posted on Twitter show, the county issued a second alert describing D.C.’s alert as a “STAY HOME” message.

Meanwhile, in Northern Virginia, Arlington County gave residents a heads-up about the forthcoming D.C. alert, saying that “due to cell tower placement,” some county residents might receive it, but that the message didn’t apply to them.

Is this going to become a regular thing?

It might, given that the novel coronavirus is continuing to proliferate in the District and the surrounding region. In a statement to DCist, HSEMA says it will consider using the WEA system again as critical updates about the virus become available. The agency also notes that it determines whether it may send wireless emergency alerts based on certain thresholds set by federal emergency management officials.

In any event, as testing for COVID-19 increases, so too will the number of positive cases—and the pressure to “flatten the curve.”

What exactly did D.C.’s alert say? 

Read it for yourself:

This post has been updated with additional information from HSEMA about future wireless emergency alerts.

Filed Under: coronavirus, covid-19, emergency, phone alert, push alert, wtf,