California announced a new state stay at home order Thursday that will soon limit the retail capacity of any shop to 20 percent.
The new order by Gov. Gavin Newsom divides the state into five regions. When the available ICU hospital capacity of any of the regions drops below 15 percent, it triggers the new stay at home rules for at least three weeks. The five regions are: Northern California, Greater Sacramento, Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.
According to ABC7 News, all the regions except the Bay Area will fall below the 15 percent ICU threshold within a few days. And the Bay Area is expected to also meet the threshold later this month.
The initial guidelines do not mention limits on manufacturing in the state and we are waiting to learn of the impact on suppliers.
Newsom acknowledged the first stay at home order early in the pandemic unfairly allowed some big box stores to remain open while small businesses were forced to close, said ABC7 News. This time, the state is aiming to lend more support to small business.
Once the stay at home order is enacted, bars, wineries, hair salons and barber shops will be required to close. Restaurants will be restricted to take-out only service. Schools can remain open.
All non-essential travel will be prohibited within the state.
The orders are in response to the rising rate of COVID-19 transmission and in hospitalizations.
The five regions are described as follows:
- 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
For more information click here and scroll down to “Regional Stay at Home Order.”
Photo: California Governor Gavin Newsom
