California’s State Public Health Officer Érica Pan has issued a new regional stay at home order that will be implemented across various regions of the state once they reach less than 15% availability of open ICU beds due to COVID-19.
The new order comes as the state deals with a rising number of coronavirus cases. Since November 19th the state has reported a daily average of about 18,500 new cases per day, up 112%, from the 8,700 cases per day reported in the weeks prior.
Regions under the order will be forced to draw back on reopening plans, and will have to follow additional guidelines:
- No private gatherings of any size
- All sector operations except for critical infrastructure and retail must close
- 100% masking and physical distancing must be followed.
Notably, one of the exceptions to the closures are outdoor recreation facilities, including pools, which will remain open so that people may continue to exercise. Swim lessons have also been deemed essential, and will be allowed to continue under the restrictions. However, some teams in the affected regions, like Rose Bowl Aquatics, have suspended practice, especially based on municipal or county restrictions.
Currently, the state has five separate regions that are being tracked by health professionals (by county):
- Northern California: Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, Trinity
- Bay Area: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma
- Greater Sacramento: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Sierra, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba
- San Joaquin Valley: Calaveras, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Benito, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare, Tuolumne
- Southern California: Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura
Of the 5 regions, only San Joaquin Valley (8.6%) and Southern California (12.5%) currently have ICU bed availability under 15% and will go under the order.
Ph.D. student in immunology here…Some of the comments on this page are extremely disappointing and do not consider the “big picture”…just wow. At the end of the day, we need to think of the most vulnerable in our society, who are susceptible to severe illness or death. I know that it’s tough to be out of the pool for extended periods of time, but we all need to make some sacrifices to protect front-line workers. Even making small sacrifices like closing pools, gyms, and meeting virtually could keep cases under control. I swam collegiately, and continue to swim masters, and I want like nothing else to get back in the pool – just need to be patient 🙂
Rose Bowl Aquatics caps are nice. That’s the nicest swim team logo I’ve ever seen.
I think it might be the head.
I would take California’s policies over the 40 states in front of it any day. if you don’t like California, don’t let the door hit you on the way in or out.… Read more »
Data Table for Case Rate by State/Territory
CDC | Updated: Dec 8 2020 12:16PM
State/TerritoryCase Rate per 100,000
1North Dakota11,027
2SouthDakota 9,805
3Iowa 7,772
4Wisconsin 7,627
5New York City*4,092/42New York*3,404
6Nebraska 7,315
7Utah 6,885
8Montana 6,457
9Wyoming 6,402
10Idaho 6,378
11Minnesota 6,347
12Illinois 6,250
13RhodeIsland6,225
14Tennessee6,037
15Kansas5,977
16Indiana5,787
17Arkansas5,708
18Mississippi5,623
19Nevada5,622
20Alabama5,570
21Louisiana5,411
22Missouri5,304
23New Mexico5,247
24Oklahoma5,224
25Arizona5,101
26Florida4,922
Nuts – just not making sense anymore -it is flu season. So now every flu season We’re going to start shutting down everything again and the only people in business are going to be Amazon, Walmart and Home Depot. Oh and target is essential service. Ridiculous and everybody can sit in their houses and look out the window and order food to be delivered. Our kids will all become more uneducated as they will never go back to school and people will continue to sit at home and try to collect unemployment. You watch, the virus vaccine will be delayed and delayed and delayed. This will be our future.
You are correct! Many people will disagree with your insightful analysis.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-12-08/overwhelmed-by-covid-cases-fresno-county-first-in-california-to-reach-0-icu-capacity
“You watch, the virus vaccine will be delayed and delayed and delayed.”
Good thing we’ll only have to wait for about a week for you to be proven wrong…
Enjoy the cocktail. I’ll wait.
They’ve already begun vaccinating people in the UK. So if the virus vaccine is delayed in the US, we know who to blame.
Also, the “this is just the flu” rhetoric died c. May, alongside the 100,000th American, even amid the most loyal of Breitbart readers. I haven’t seen that argument in months. Thanks for the #throwbackthursday
While kids in Florida and other states are having state championships
Months ago, California officials warned of a second wave coming in December. So what did powers that be do? They postponed starting athletic competition until December. Brilliant.
Now, after 3 or 4 months of relative calm with the virus, the expected spike has materialized and the powers have now postponed competition indefinitely. Santa Clara County has even put a restriction on traveling youth sports team–if you travel out of the county for competition, the County will shut you down.
On the bright side, my freshman daughter told me yesterday that she’s kind of glad the start of the season was postponed. As both her club and her high school have been holding camps, she’s so much stronger now than… Read more »
One thing you can count on through all this is USA swimming raising your athlete, coaching and officiating dues.
So I guess my herd immunity policy wouldn’t fly in California?
This will never compare to the immeasurable sadness I felt when I heard the Ohio State-Michigan football game was canceled.
A sad day for Californian OSU fans
Why was it cancelled? Hogwash!