Newsom Declares Regional Keep-At-House Order For Areas With Low ICU Capability – CBS San Francisco
CBS San Francisco Employee Report
SACRAMENTO (CBS SF) – After a record day of new COVID cases, Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Thursday a new regional stay-at-home order tied to intensive tariffs in a specific region and requiring many businesses to close.
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Previously, the state put restrictions based on the county’s COVID case rates and hospital stays. Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Napa, Sonoma and Solano Counties are all currently in the Purple Tier, while Marin stayed in the Red Tier as of Wednesday.
The new restrictions are based on ICU capacity and are tied to hospital regions. If a region falls below the available capacity in the intensive care unit below 15 percent, the restrictions on a three-week order for the stay at home are tightened.
According to Newsom, the order could be canceled after at least three weeks if the planned intensive capacity of a region reaches or exceeds 15 percent. The planned intensive capacity of the region would be reviewed weekly if it had not reached this threshold after the third week.
Current ICU capacity projections for the state’s various hospital regions assume that much of California will fall below ICU capacity of 15 percent within the next week, which will affect Greater Sacramento, Northern California and the San Joaquin Valley in early December and Southern California will impact.
The Bay Area, which has fared better in terms of case numbers despite most of the region being in the purple plains, is expected to drop below the 15 percent ICU capacity threshold in mid to late December.
The governor said state health officials had long conversations with economic and business advisors to come up with the latest framework for the home order.
“Our experts and advisors are plentiful,” he said. “For a few days we have been looking across the entire spectrum for valuable insights and valuable considerations that we have brought into play.”
Newsom also explained which companies for regions would have to shut down as part of the three-week stay-at-home contracts.
“If the region is placed in the stay at home category, the bars, wineries, personal services, hair salons and the like will be temporarily closed for that three week period,” Newsom said.
Indoor and outdoor playgrounds, museums, zoos and aquariums, cinemas and family entertainment centers will also have to close under the new restrictions.
Newsom said the sectors that remain open when a region is placed under the regional stay-at-home order include:
- Schools that have received a waiver
- Critical Infrastructure
- Retail (20 percent exposure reduction capacity)
- Restaurants (takeaway and delivery)
- Places of worship are only allowed to hold services outdoors
The governor recognized the difficulties businesses, particularly restaurant retailers, were having with the pandemic restrictions and would be faced again with the new order.
“As a restaurateur himself who literally started college and started a small retail business and restaurant, I am deeply empathetic,” said Newsom.
Newsom also announced that the state will temporarily restrict all non-essential travel across the state.
Newsom also pointed out the importance of staying active and keeping connections at home while ordering. He encouraged residents to stay in touch with friends and family virtually.
He also emphasized the importance of exercise and getting outdoors.
“We would like to emphasize the following. None of us are naive, I certainly am not, from the mental stress we are all under. Not just the financial hardship that many suffer from, and even more staying at home with this order. But we want to encourage activity. Activities that again focus on not indoors, not in community facilities, not where there is a tremendous amount of mixing, but outdoors, ”Newsom said. “We recommend that you take your dog for a walk. We want you to do sports and run with a partner in your household. Go tobogganing, these outdoor winter activities, or take a stroll on the beach in our state parks or local parks. “
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Newsom reiterates the restrictions are temporary, especially given the availability of a COVID vaccine in the next few months.
“This is not a permanent condition. This is what many predicted, as we predicted, the ultimate rise of this pandemic. At the end of the tunnel there is light. We are only months away from real progress with the vaccine: real diffusion, real accessibility, real availability, ”Newsom said. “We don’t expect to have to do this again, but we really all have to do something. We must face this moment directly and do whatever we can to contain the tide, turn the curve and give us the time it takes to get these vaccines into the hands of all Californians. “
California reported more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, shattering the state’s previous all-day record. A record 8,500 people are in hospital, including more than 2,000 in intensive care, and the state has fewer than 2,000 available ICU beds.
Newsom said regional health officials were working to prepare surge protectors across the state that would provide more available beds for COVID patients as case numbers continue to rise and intensive care unit capacity shrinks.
“As we stay at home and the number of intensive care units, hospitalizations and deaths increases significantly in the state of California, we move from being warm to being more active,” Newsom said.
Newsom reminded entrepreneurs that in addition to financial support for workers, the state continues to offer relief in the form of sales tax deferrals and soft loans.
“We have put together a pretty comprehensive package. Dare I say few states in the country have done more in terms of sick leave, compensation, access to health insurance and expansion, ”Newsom said. “It’s important that people take advantage of the benefits. These programs are only as good as they are available and people know about them. This support for workers has evolved, they are the law and we encourage people to take advantage of them. “
The governor also touched on the state’s plans for vaccines and warned influential people who are considering early access to a COVID vaccine.
“We’re going to be very aggressive in ensuring that those with resources and those with influence don’t crowd out those who deserve the vaccines the most,” Newsom said. “Those who think they can be ahead and those who think because they have the resources or relationships that allow them to do so will also be monitored very, very closely.”
Newsom also mentioned his plans for his homeless initiative, Project Roomkey, and said he intends to continue implementation despite the setback the program has received from some regional officials and residents.
“We are working aggressively with the new administration, the Biden administration, to provide more clarity so that the districts will be more comfortable as they expand the Roomkey model and are confident it will go beyond the calendar year,” said Newsom.
The governor admitted that this latest, and hopefully final, surge could be the biggest challenge the state has faced so far in the pandemic.
“We have to take this moment seriously, this is the most difficult moment since this pandemic began. This is the time if there ever was any doubt, put your doubts aside, put your skepticism aside, put your cynicism aside, put your ideology aside, put aside all consideration except this: lives are in balance, life will be lost if we don’t do more than ever before, ”Newsom said. “We are asked to do everything in our power to make difficult decisions that are necessary for this moment. To get through the next few weeks, to get through the next few months. “
He added, “We will be resilient and recover as a state, and we will all be rewarded for knowing we saved the lives of loved ones, we saved the lives of strangers, and we did our best to keep the spread contain this virus. “
Health officials across the state expect the surge to accelerate over the next few weeks as these cases feed into the already overwhelmed nationwide hospital system.
Santa Clara County announced a 14-day quarantine over the weekend for those traveling into the county from more than 150 miles away. There is also a 10 p.m. to 5 p.m. curfew in every Bay Area county except Marin.
Los Angeles County, the most populous country in the country with 10 million people, has also imposed stricter home restrictions and a three-week ban on personal dining in restaurants, as the county health director Barbara Ferrer called “appalling increases in numbers.” . ”
On Wednesday evening, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti issued a city order that spoke in apocalyptic tones and ordered people to stay in their homes.
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LA “is now on the verge of a devastating turning point” that could overwhelm the hospital system, “which in turn risks unnecessary suffering and death,” the mayor’s order reads.