California cases hit record as state curfew begins

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People line up at a Covid-19 test site at the Old USD Electronics Recycling Center in San Diego, California, United States on Tuesday, November 17, 2020. California Governor Gavin Newsom a imposed a curfew on the vast majority of residents to curb coronavirus transmission, deepening measures to stop a rapid outbreak while stopping before a full lockdown.

(Bloomberg) – California has added 15,442 new cases of the coronavirus, reaching a new high as the state’s evening curfew begins on Saturday night.

The cases surpassed Friday’s record 13,005 infections, bringing the total to nearly 1.1 million. The number of deaths increased from 86 to 18,643, according to state data. The surge in patient numbers has left California hospitals with just 1,921 ICU beds available, near the low in July.

A 10 p.m. – 5 a.m. curfew will be imposed in most counties for a month to reduce the infection rate, affecting areas that encompass 37 million people, or 94 percent of the population.

Only 10 countries in the world have more cases than California, where the number of cases now exceeds those of Mexico and Germany, which have been hot spots for the pandemic.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said earlier in the week that the curfew would halt non-essential works and rallies to “flatten the curve again”, reflecting growing concern among state officials as the third wave of coronavirus infections to hit the state are on the rise.

The spike in California cases comes as infections across the United States topped 12 million and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended against travel on cruise ships, citing the high risk of infection .

Officials also urged residents to avoid travel and cut Thanksgiving gatherings – or cancel them altogether. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti tweeted Saturday to remind residents to celebrate virtually or only with members of the same household.

The impact of the California ordinance on businesses will be limited and appears largely intended to prevent nighttime dating. Restaurants will have to close open-air restaurants at 10 p.m., but they may continue to offer take-out after that. People working night shifts in factories, warehouses or logistics jobs will not be affected. 24-hour grocery stores may remain open.

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