What the new stay-at-home order means for San Diego

Update 10:45 p.m., Friday December 4, 2020

San Diego County is expected to see new restrictions on coronaviruses in the coming days.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) reports that the Southern California region has only 13% of available critical care beds, triggering a “regional stay-at-home order.”

While the regional number bringing restrictions is below the state’s 15% threshold, San Diego County officials reported an ICU availability of 23% on Friday. (The Southern California region includes the counties of San Diego, Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura.)

A spokesperson for the CRPD told KPBS that restrictions on personal care businesses, restaurants and the like will take effect this Sunday at 11:59 p.m. if the Southern California area sees ICU availability again. less than 15%.

Original story

Californians are being told to prepare for a new “regional stay-at-home order” that could hit most of the state, including San Diego County, by next week.

The new order would ban private gatherings of any size, close outdoor restaurants and close some businesses, including salons and barber shops, for at least three weeks.

Regional restrictions will be triggered if the availability of intensive care in the Southern California region falls below 15%, but it is this “regional” cluster that concerns some. San Diego County is grouped with Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties.

“I have not had the opportunity to discuss with the governor or his staff the reasoning behind this consolidation,” said San Diego Mayor-elect Todd Gloria. “I want to know more about this, but at first glance I think they’re trying to say that none of us live in a siled environment. We know that in San Diego County, we welcome and assist residents of Imperial County with their cases and lack of infrastructure. “

The counties that San Diego is grouped with are driving our numbers down. Collectively, the state said the Southern California region’s critical care availability was 20%, but it was less than the San Diego County critical care availability, which is about 23%. %. Both of these figures are taken from data through Thursday. At the time of going to press, data for Friday has yet to be released.

“When you look at the differences between our numbers and some of the other countries that we have come together with, it invites questions,” Gloria said. He said he would ask the governor more about it.

A handful of Bay Area counties are planning to implement the state’s regional stay-at-home order starting this weekend. Health workers in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties as well as the city of Berkeley said aggressive action was needed to slow the rise of the virus.

A San Diego County spokesperson said on Friday that local health officials did not plan to take a similar move.

A spokesperson for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said that with the restrictions looming, they do not anticipate any changes in the app or increased patrols, adding that MPs will continue to respond to complaints.

According to the state, if the regional home care order goes into effect, the following areas must close: indoor and outdoor play areas, indoor recreation facilities, hair salons and barber shops, personal care services, wineries , brasseries, bars, card rooms, zoos and aquariums.

Some of these closures are already covered by the purple level.

Restaurants will still be allowed take out and deliveries only, indoor retail stores and malls will be allowed to operate at 20% capacity, while hotels and offices may be open to critical infrastructure areas. Outdoor recreation facilities can continue to operate without any sale of food or alcohol, and churches can still organize outside services.

Professional sports would be allowed to continue without a live crowd.

For parents, schools that are already open can remain open.

There is currently some financial relief for business owners. San Diego County has $ 20 million set aside for pandemic-affected operations, funding requests are open now.

To view PDF documents, download Acrobat Reader.