California Governor issues regional stay-at-home order
The new stay-at-home order will take hold in regions where hospitals are feeling the squeeze on capacity to treat the incoming surge of Covid-19 patients. A strict stay-at home order will go into effect 48 hours after hospital intensive care unit capacity drops below 15% in one of five regions the state is divided into: Northern California, Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.
“We are at a tipping point in our fight against the virus and we need to take decisive action now to prevent California’s hospital system from being overwhelmed in the coming weeks,” Newsom said.
The new order comes as the state experiences a record surge of new cases and hospitalizations that are projected to overwhelm hospitals by Christmas. The state added 18,591 more cases Thursday, bringing the total to 1.2 million.
None of the regions currently meet the threshold but state officials project four of the regions will drop below 15% ICU capacity in early December with the Bay Area to follow in mid-to-late December, Newsom said. The five regions include 99% of the state’s 39 million residents.
“We need to do everything we can to stem the tide” until coronavirus vaccines are ready for the public, the governor said.
Once the new order is triggered in a region, it would remain in effect for three weeks. Schools that are already open for in-person learning can remain open along with critical infrastructure businesses. Retail business may stay open but at 20% capacity and restaurants are limited to take out and delivery only.
When a region falls under 15% ICU threshold, business that must close include bars, wineries, personal services like hair salons and barber shops, museums, movie theaters, playgrounds, amusement parks and indoor recreation facilities.
Travel is prohibited except as necessary for permitted activities. Newsom said he expects this is the last time that a stay-at-home order will be needed during the pandemic.
“We do not anticipate having to do this once again,” Newsom said. “There is light at the end of the tunnel. We are few months away from truly seeing real progress with the vaccine. We have distribution, we have accessibility, we have availability.”
Los Angeles mayor tells residents ‘cancel everything’
The mayor of Los Angeles said the city will run out of hospital beds by Christmas if the coronavirus spreads at its current rate as he urged residents to remain home to help stop the spread of the virus.
Residents should stay home as much as possible as the city faces stark choices between “health and sickness, care and apathy, life and death,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti during a Wednesday news conference.
“It’s time to hunker down. It’s time to cancel everything. If it isn’t essential, don’t do it,” Garcetti said. “Don’t meet up with others outside your household, don’t host that gathering, don’t attend a gathering.”
The number of daily coronavirus infections in Los Angeles has tripled since early November. Hospitalizations have more than tripled and are at a new peak, Garcetti said.
“The public health condition of our city is as dire as it was in March in the earliest days of this pandemic,” he said.
All county residents are asked to stay home as much as possible and wear face masks when outside, even when exercising. The order reduces the maximum occupancy for essential businesses to 35%, and for nonessential businesses, personal care services and libraries to 20%.
Patients needing intensive care will surpass capacity, according to state projections. Statewide, ICU capacity is projected to be 112% by mid-December while Northern California is projected to see 134% more ICU patients than beds by early December.
