[ad_1]
SACRAMENTO – California is considering a new stay-at-home ordinance for counties where coronavirus cases and hospitalization rates are rising rapidly to prevent the health care system from being overwhelmed before the end of the year.
As the state experiences a workload greater than its summer surge, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday he is assessing whether to impose new restrictions similar to the March lockdown that banned Californians from leaving their homes except for essential activities and exercise.
“Red flags are flying in terms of the trajectory in our growth projections,” Newsom said at a press conference. “If these trends continue, we will have to take much more dramatic, arguably drastic, action.”
The seven-day average of new coronavirus cases rose to 14,657, Newsom said, well above the peak of the summer outbreak when the state averaged 9,881 new cases per day over a week in July.
Hospitalizations of coronavirus patients also rose 89% in the past two weeks to 7,787, the governor said. At the current rate, that number could double or triple next month.
The push is putting particular pressure on intensive care units, Newsom said. Without slowing the spread of the virus, intensive care beds statewide could be filled by Christmas, forcing hospitals to build up additional capacity.
“It’s in the absence of making better decisions,” he said. “I want people to know that we intend to bend this proverbial curve.”
Newsom has said it will decide in the coming days to issue another stay-at-home order for counties in California in the purple level, where the coronavirus is spreading fastest and restrictions on public life are most severe. All but seven of the state’s 58 counties are now in the purple level. In the Bay Area, Marin County is the only county that is not in the purple.
The governor called the potential order a “dark purple” measure. He said this could include unspecified changes to keep businesses operating, as many outside have done, although he declined to give more details.
Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, suggested the ordinance could initially only be targeted to counties where the state anticipates critical care capacity could be strained and that the duration could be limited.
“Ultimately, we see the capacity of the intensive care units as the primary trigger for deeper, more restrictive action,” Ghaly said. “We see that the second half of December could push the boundaries in some areas. We want to act sooner than that so that we can reduce transmission and deal with these potential high surges in ICU.
Alexei Koseff is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @akoseff
[ad_2]
Source link