CALIFORNIA GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (Matt Gush/Shutterstock).
Orange County and the rest of Southern California faces more restrictions on businesses and day-to-day activities as the state grapples with spiking instances not only of new coronavirus cases but also steadily rising numbers of hospitalizations and occupancy of intensive care units.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, in a statewide televised event Thursday afternoon, announced a new regional “stay-at-home” order which will kick in when any of the state’s five regions – such as Southern California – sees its projected ICU capacity fall below 15 percent.
“The bottom line is that is if we don’t act now,” said Newsom, “our hospital system will be overwhelmed. If we don’t act now, we’ll continue to see the death rate climb, more lives lost.”
In the previous 24 hours, he said, 113 deaths from COVID-19 were reported.
Such an order is expected to hit the OC within a week. It would prohibit private gatherings of any size, close operations except for critical infrastructure and retail, and requires 100 percent masking and physical distancing.
That order, if and when it comes, would be in effect for a minimum of three weeks. After that, the order would be lifted when the ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15 percent.
If ordered, closing is required of:
- indoor and outdoor playgrounds
- indoor recreational facilities
- hair salons and barber shops
- personal care services
- museums, zoos and aquariums
- movie theaters
- wineries
- bars, breweries and distilleries
- family entertainment centers
- cardrooms and satellite wagering
- live audience sports
- amusement parks.
Retail stores and shopping centers will be allowed to operate at 20 percent capacity. Restaurants may be open only for take-out, pick-up or delivery. Worship services and political expression activities must be conducted outdoors only.
Generally speaking, schools that are already open, in compliance with mandated measures and with low percentages of coronavirus infection will remain open.
For more details, go to: https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-needs/ .
Categories: coronavirus
Please, please, please, wear a mask & social distance. It is fashionable to blame onerous government for shutting things down, yet ultimately the responsibility is on us, & society has failed.
We have a moral obligation to respect those around us & to not engage in behavior that might harm others. We stop at red lights because we do not want to hurt others as much as we do not want to harm ourselves. There are those who talk about “personal sovereignty,” but that must always be weighed against our responsibility toward others. Want more examples? Can you walk around naked on Main Street? Are you allowed to shoot up with heroin in the Walmart parking lot? Are these rules a violation of one’s right to do whatever feels good? Why is this any different?
It is painful to see another shutdown at Christmastime. Well, look in the mirror, & ask yourself: Have I done enough to make sure that coronavirus is not spread? At the supermarket just yesterday, there was a woman with her mask around her chin. I stared her down until she pushed the mask back up around her nose & mouth.