CDC issues new eviction ban for most of US through Oct. 3

[BumRushDaShow]

18. I was looking at the actual order (and its statute references)

and apparently they are narrow-targeting it to those living in specific areas that have been designated as having "substantial" or higher levels of COVID-19 community spread.

The additional narrowing is that if a state/municipality has their own moratorium, then this moratorium would not apply to those individuals in that state/municipality (and they should follow whatever is being offered locally as long as it is equivalent or better than the federal moratorium).

A section from it (starting on pg. 12 - https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/communication/Signed-CDC-Eviction-Order.pdf (PDF)) -

APPLICABILITY

This Order applies in U.S. counties experiencing substantial48 and high49 levels of community transmission levels of SARS-CoV-2 as defined by CDC, as of August 3, 2021. If a U.S. county that is not covered by this Order as of August 3, 2021 later experiences substantial or high levels of community transmission while this Order is in effect, then that county will become subject to this Order as of the date the county begins experiencing substantial or high levels of community transmission. If a U.S. county that is covered by this Order no longer experiences substantial or high levels of community transmission for 14 consecutive days, then this Order will no longer apply in that county, unless and until the county again experiences substantial or high levels of community transmission while this Order is in effect.

This Order does not apply in any state, local, territorial, or tribal area with a moratorium on residential evictions that provides the same or greater level of public-health protection than the requirements listed in this Order or to the extent its application is prohibited by Federal court order. In accordance with 42 U.S.C. 264(e), this Order does not preclude s tate, local, territorial,and tribal authorities from imposing additional requirements that provide greater public-health protection and are more restrictive than the requirements in this Order.

This Order is a temporary eviction moratorium to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. This Order does not relieve any individual of any obligation to pay rent, make a housing payment, or comply with any other obligation that the individual may have under a tenancy, lease, or similar contract. Nothing in this Order precludes the charging or collecting of fees, penalties, or interest as a result of the failure to pay rent or other housing payment on a timely basis, under the term sof any applicable contract

.

The justification was that dumping people out now before being able to use funding that the states were given but haven't issued yet, may result in further spread of the virus, as they would basically have no good place to self-quarantine, and there is data showing enhanced outbreaks in homeless shelters due to crowding.

Justification (from pgs 9 &10) -

Modeling studies and observational data from the pre-vaccine phase of the COVID-19 pandemic comparing incidence between states that implemented and lifted eviction moratoria indicate that evictions substantially contribute to COVID-19 transmission. In mathematical models where eviction led exclusively to sharing housing with friends or family, lifting eviction moratoria led to a 30% increased risk of contracting COVID-19 among people who were evicted and those with whom they shared housing after eviction. Compared to a scenario where no evictions occurred, the models also predicted a 4 %-40% increased risk of infection, even for those who did not share housing, as a result of increased overall transmission. The authors estimated that anywhere from 1,000 to 100,000 excess cases per million population could be attributable to evictions depending on the eviction and infection rates.

An analysis of observational data from state-based eviction moratoria in 43 states and the District of Columbia showed significant increases in COVID-19 incidence and mortality approximately 2- 3 months after eviction moratoria were lifted.39 Specifically, the authors compared theCOVID-19 incidence and mortality rates in states that lifted their moratoria with the rates instates that maintained their moratoria. In these models, the authors accounted for time-varying indicators of each state’s test count as well as major public-health interventions including lifting stay-at-home orders, school closures, and mask mandates. After adjusting for these other changes, they found that the incidence of COVID-19 in states that lifted their moratoria was 1.6 times that of states that did not at 10 weeks post-lifting (95% CI 1.0, 2.3), a ratio that grew to 2.1 at ≥16 weeks (CI 1.1, 3.9). Similarly, they found that mortality in states that lifted their moratoria was 1.6 times that of states that did not at 7 weeks post-lifting (CI 1.2, 2.3), a ratio that grew to5.4 at≥16 weeks (CI 3.1, 9.3). The authors estimated that, nationally, over 433,000 cases ofCOVID-19 and over 10,000 deaths could be attributed to lifting state moratoria.

Although data are limited, available evidence suggests evictions lead to interstate spread ofCOVID-19 in two ways. First, an eviction may lead the evicted members of a household to move across state lines. Of the 35 million people in America who move each year, 15% move to a new state. Second, even if a particular eviction, standing alone, would not always result in interstate displacement, the mass evictions that would occur in the absence of this Order would inevitably increase the interstate spread of COVID-19. This Order cannot effectively mitigate interstate transmission of COVID-19 without covering intrastate evictions (evictions occurring within the boundaries of a state or territory), as the level of spread of SARS-CoV-2 resulting from these evictions can lead to SARS-CoV-2 transmission across state borders.

Moreover, intrastate spread facilitates interstate spread in the context of communicable disease spread, given the nature of infectious disease. In the aggregate, the mass-scale evictions that will likely occur in the absence of this Order in areas of substantial or high transmission will inevitably increase interstate spread of COVID-19.