Photo via Unsplash, Daiwei Lu@daiwei.
Governor Gavin Newsom announced a Regional Stay Home Order Thursday afternoon.
“If we don’t act now, California’s hospital system will be overwhelmed and our death rate will continue to climb,” Newsom said.
According to the governor, the Stay Home Order, “Prohibits private gatherings of any size, closes sector operations except for critical infrastructure and retail, and requires 100% masking and physical distancing in all others.”
The three-week order will take place in regions where ICU availability is less than 15%. After the three-week period, the order will be lifted if the region’s ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15%. The capacity will be assessed on a weekly basis after the initial three week period.
The state released a map of the five regions, their current ICU capacity, and projected dates when regions will fall below the 15% threshold. The regions are:
- Northern California: Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, Trinity
- Bay Area: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma
- Greater Sacramento: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Sierra, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba
- San Joaquin Valley: Calaveras, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Benito, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare, Tuolumne
- Southern California: Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura
Northern California, Greater Sacramento, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California are expected to enter the order in early December while the Bay Area is projected to enter the order in mid to late December.
All non-essential travel is now temporarily restricted statewide. Newsom sent a series of tweets explaining which sectors will be allowed to stay open while which sectors will have to close.
Sectors that will be temporarily closed when a region is placed into the Stay-At-Home include:
– Bars
– Wineries
– Personal Services
– Hair Salons / Barbershops— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) December 3, 2020
In an effort to spread some positivity, Newsom tweeted: “It’s important to stay active and connected during these times. Keep connected virtually. Get outdoors: •Go to a park or a beach •Go on a hike •Go on a bike ride •Go fishing •Do yoga •Walk your dog •Do an outdoor fitness class •Go on a run •Go skiing, snowboarding”
“No regions have been placed into this Regional Stay-At-Home Order at this time. Remember: this is temporary. Hope is on the way. Relief is on the way. A vaccine is coming — with first doses arriving in the next few weeks. We can get through this — together.” Said Newsom.
Watch the full press conference here.