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SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom will impose new stay-at-home orders in areas where intensive care unit capacity is dwindling to try to slow the growing number of coronavirus cases in California, according to two people who have been made aware of the imminent governor’s announcement.
The new stay-at-home orders will be grouped by regional hospital networks, rather than individual counties, and will take effect when the ICU’s capacity in a region drops below 15%, the sources said, speaking on condition that they were not identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Newsom is expected to announce the new orders on Thursday. A spokesperson for the governor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The orders will require the closure of many non-essential businesses in affected areas – including indoor catering and personal care services such as barbers and nail salons – but will allow local communities to decide whether to keep schools. open, according to sources. They will remain in effect for at least three weeks after the state imposes them.
Businesses in areas allowed to stay, such as grocery stores, will need to operate at just 20% of capacity, the sources say.
According to the sources, there will be five regions where ICU capacity will be tracked: rural northern California, the Bay Area, the greater Sacramento area, the San Joaquin Valley, and southern California, going from San Luis Obispo to the Mexican border. It was not clear which areas could immediately be placed under a stay-at-home order.
As California experiences a greater workload than its summer surge, Newsom said Monday it was assessing whether to impose new restrictions similar to the March lockdown that prohibited Californians from leaving their homes except for activities and essential exercise.
“Red flags are flying in terms of trajectory in our growth projections,” Newsom said. “If these trends continue, we will have to take much more dramatic, arguably drastic, action.”
The governor said without new public health interventions, the state could run out of capacity in hospital intensive care units by Christmas Eve if the surge continues at its current rate. About three-quarters of intensive care beds are currently full, nearly 25% of which are with COVID-19 patients.
Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles passed their own amended stay-at-home ordinances this week, largely prohibiting people from congregating outside their immediate homes, but allowing retail businesses, parks , beaches, golf courses and tennis courts to stay open.
Newsom’s briefing will be streamed live on the @CAgovernor Twitter page and the California Governor’s Facebook page.
Check back to SFChronicle.com for updates on this breaking story.
Alexei Koseff is a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @akoseff
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