Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a regional stay-at-home order Thursday, with triggers based on hospital ICU capacity. Under the new plan, geographic regions will face shutdowns akin to what we saw in March within 24 hours of their ICU capacity dropping below 15%.
“The bottom line is, if we don’t act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed," the governor said. "If we don’t act now, we’ll continue to see a death rate climb, more lives lost."
California’s 58 counties are broken up into five different regions. ICU capacity fell below 15% in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley last week, triggering stay-at-home orders for nearly two dozen counties. Six more counties have implemented the restrictions voluntarily: Yolo; Alameda; Contra Costa; Santa Clara; San Francisco; and Marin.
The restrictions mandate closure of non-essential indoor operations like hair salons, wineries, movie theatres, museums, casinos and card rooms, as well as indoor and outdoor playgrounds. Retail stores are limited to 20% capacity.
Under the order, K-12 schools that were already offering in-person instruction can continue to stay open. Some districts are moving to online learning voluntarily.
Once a region hits the trigger, they must abide by the restrictions for at least three weeks. To end the restrictions, projected ICU capacity for the coming four-week period must be at 15% or above.