SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California Gov. Gavin Newsom says most of the state will likely be under a new stay-at-home order within a day or two.
Newsom announced new stay-at-home rules on Thursday that will trigger when a region’s intensive care unit capacity falls below 15%. Newsom announced the new plans on Thursday amid an unprecedented surge of new coronavirus cases in the nation’s most populous state.
Newsom said four of the state’s five regions are likely to meet that threshold within a day or two. He said the only one likely not to meet the threshold is the San Francisco Bay Area.
The new order divides the state into five regions. 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
Newsom said none of the regions currently meet the threshold for the new rules. When they do, the state will order them to close hair salons and barber shops, limit retail stores to 20% capacity and only allow restaurants to offer take-out and delivery. The rules don't apply to school districts.
The order prohibits private gatherings of any size and requires 100% masking and physical distancing in all others.
The new order will go into effect within 48 hours in regions with less than 15% ICU availability, according to the state. The order will remain in effect for at least 3 weeks and, after that period, will be lifted when a region’s projected ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15%, according to the state. Officials say this will be assessed on a weekly basis after the initial 3 week period.
