Governor Newsom Issues Regional Stay-at-Home Order Pending ICU Capacity

Thursday, December 3, 2020

On Thursday, December 3, Governor Newsom issued a Regional Stay-at-Home Order for regions where hospital ICU capacity is 15% or lower. The state is divided into five regions, with one of those regions being Southern California. The County of Orange and the City of Irvine is in the Southern California region, which currently maintains an ICU capacity of 20.60%.

All Californians need to 1) stop gathering with those outside of your household, 2) keep activities outdoors, and 3) keep your mask on when outside of the home when six feet of social distancing cannot be maintained.

If the Southern California region reaches 15% ICU capacity, the following sectors must temporarily close within 24 hours:

Sectors to temporarily close:

  • Indoor and outdoor playgrounds
  • Indoor recreational facilities
  • Hair salons and barbershops
  • Personal care services
  • Museums, zoos, and aquariums
  • Movie theaters
  • Wineries
  • Bars, breweries, and distilleries
  • Family entertainment centers
  • Cardrooms and satellite wagering
  • Limited services
  • Live audience sports
  • Amusement parks

The City of Irvine will make modifications to activities and programs as required if and when the order goes into effect.

The following sectors will have additional modifications in addition to 100% masking and physical distancing:

  • Outdoor recreational facilities: Allow outdoor operation only without any food, drink or alcohol sales. Additionally, overnight stays at campgrounds will not be permitted.
  • Retail: Allow indoor operation at 20% capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.
  • Shopping centers: Allow indoor operation at 20% capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.
  • Hotels and lodging: Allow to open for critical infrastructure support only.
  • Restaurants: Allow only for take-out, pick-up, or delivery.
  • Offices: Allow remote only except for critical infrastructure sectors where remote working is not possible.
  • Places of worship and political expression: Allow outdoor services only.
  • Entertainment production including professional sports: Allow operation without live audiences. Additionally, testing protocol and “bubbles” are highly encouraged.

Sectors that can remain open when a remote option is not possible with appropriate infectious disease preventative measures including 100% masking and physical distancing:

  • Schools that are already open for in-person learning
  • Critical infrastructure
  • Non-urgent medical and dental care
  • Child care and Pre-K

In addition, all nonessential travel is temporarily restricted.

This order will remain in effect for at least three weeks, and after that period, will be lifted when the Southern California region’s projected hospital ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15%

For more information, visit covid19.ca.gov.