SACRAMENTO — California is considering a renewed stay-at-home order for counties where coronavirus cases and hospitalizations rates are rapidly increasing to prevent the health care system from becoming overwhelmed before the end of the year.
With the state experiencing a caseload higher than its summer surge, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that he was assessing whether to impose new restrictions similar to the March lockdown that prohibited Californians from leaving home for all but essential activities and exercise.
“The red flags are flying in terms of the trajectory in our projections of growth,” Newsom said at a news conference. “If these trends continue, we’re going to have to take much more dramatic, arguably drastic, action.”
The seven-day average of new coronavirus cases has risen to 14,657, Newsom said, far above the peak of the summer surge when the state averaged 9,881 new cases daily over a week in July.
Hospitalizations of coronavirus patients have also increased by 89% over the past two weeks to 7,787, the governor said. At the current rate, that number could double or triple in the next month.
The surge is putting particular strain on intensive care units, Newsom said. Without slowing the spread of the virus, ICU beds statewide could be filled by Christmas, forcing hospitals to set up extra capacity.
“This is in the absence of making better decisions,” he said. “I want folks to know that we intend to bend this proverbial curve.”
Newsom said he would decide in the coming days whether to issue another stay-at-home order for California counties in the purple tier, where the coronavirus is spreading most quickly and restrictions on public life are the most severe. All but seven of the state’s 58 counties are now in the purple tier. In the Bay Area, Marin County is the only county not in the purple.
The governor referred to the potential order as a “deep purple” measure. He said it could include unspecified modifications for businesses to continue operating, as many have outdoors, though he declined to elaborate.
Mark Ghaly, secretary of California’s health and human services agency, suggested that the order may initially be targeted only at counties where the state projects that ICU capacity could become strained and that the length may be limited.
“Bottom line is we are looking at intensive care unit capacity as the primary trigger for deeper, more restrictive action,” Ghaly said. “We see that the second half of December could be pushing the limits in some areas. We want to act sooner than that so we can get transmission down and we can handle those potential high ICU surges.”
Alexei Koseff is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: alexei.koseff@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @akoseff
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December 01, 2020 at 05:40AM
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California may need new stay-at-home order to slow coronavirus, Newsom says - San Francisco Chronicle
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