With coronavirus cases surging and capacity inside intensive care units rapidly nearing dangerously low levels, nearly 85% of California residents will soon be under sweeping new restrictions as part of the state’s latest salvo to bring the pandemic under control.
Residents in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley will be under a stay-at-home order through the Christmas holiday beginning at 11:59 Sunday evening. The order will mean strict new closures for many businesses and a ban on gathering with anyone outside of your household in two regions of the state that are collectively home to some 27 million people. The order will be in effect for at least three weeks.
The order was triggered after ICU capacity in the two regions fell below a 15% threshold announced this past week by Gov. Gavin Newsom. In Southern California, the rate fell to 12.5%, while in the San Joaquin Valley it had dipped to 8.6%, state health officials announced Saturday.
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