Source: California throws home orders on Monday

California will lift regional stay-at-home orders statewide on Monday, sources told The Chronicle.

A source close to the governor’s office confirmed the state plans to end the stay-at-home order on Monday morning, relocating counties under the reopening framework based on colored levels. It will no longer be strictly linked to the number of beds available in intensive care units.

Now, with the post-vacation outbreak dwindling, the availability of intensive care units in areas that remained under stay-at-home orders from Sunday – including the Bay Area and Southern California – is expected to exceed the 15% threshold that triggered the lockdown. measures. This is why the Newsom administration decided to lift the restrictions, according to the source.

Counties will go back to the tiered system to determine how to reopen. Most areas of the state are expected to upgrade to the purple level, which means restaurants can open for outdoor service and personal care services, such as hair and nail salons, can reopen with modifications.

News of the possible change began to circulate on Sunday night after the California Restaurant Association sent a letter to members saying it had received word from the Newsom administration that stay-at-home orders would be lifted. Several members forwarded the letter to the media, including The Chronicle.

The decision comes more than six weeks after the Bay Area and almost the rest of the state has been placed under strict stay-at-home orders due to the explosive spread of the virus in late November and early December.

Although the Dec. 3 order was statewide, it was only triggered if the ICU’s projections fell below 15%. For this reason, the northernmost counties of the state were never affected. Most of the Bay Area counties voluntarily moved into the lockdown condition on December 6. On Sunday, however, the Bay Area ICU’s capacity was 23.4%.

More details on the decision are expected to be provided on Monday morning.