Following Governor Newsom’s new stay at home orders on Thursday, December 3rd, in response to the coronavirus’s rising California cases, it led to a surge in the Intensive Care Unit. He ordered that if any region’s Intensive Care Unit’s carrying capacity in California goes below 15%, the restrictions will have to be put in place and remain in place for about three weeks until the region’s ICU capacity exceeds 15%.
The restrictions he mentioned in his statement were: Indoor/Outdoor Playgrounds, Wineries, Museums, Zoos, Movie Theaters, Breweries, Distilleries, Amusement Parks, Family entertainment centers, Personal care services, hair salons, and barbershops will be closed.
What Do The Stay At Home Orders Mean To Affected Regions?
The sectors that can still open but with social distancing and 100% masking are Outdoor recreational facilities without food, drinks, and alcohol sales. Restaurants that allow only take-out or pickup. Places of worship allowing only outdoor services. Only hotels and lodgings with critical infrastructure support will be allowed to open. Retail will allow indoor operation but with 20% capacity. And the sports arenas will have their audience join them virtually.
According to the Governor, the five regions affected will include Northern California, Greater Sacramento, Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California.
And according to CBS reports, 11 counties in Southern California, from Sunday, 6th December 2020, will have to be put under the stay-at-home order, which will have many activities restricted for three weeks until their ICU’s carrying capacity stabilizes. This is because South California’s ICU beds have dropped below 15%
The Southern California region consists of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties.
So, following the guidelines, members of the same households are encouraged to go hiking, biking, running, do yoga, go for walks for the sake of their mental and physical health. It was further advised that the affected regions’ residents should virtually communicate with people outside of their immediate families to avoid the virus’s spread.
Acting State Public Health Officer, Dr. Erica Pan said: “Staying home for three weeks is a sacrifice, but if every Californian did that for a month, we could stop this disease in its tracks,” The Dr. said, “This public health order strikes a balance between saving lives, providing essential services that we all rely on and still allowing Californians to participate in lower-risk outdoor activities that are crucial for our physical and mental health.”
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