The Bay Area has dropped below the state's ICU capacity threshold, triggering Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay-at-home order for the region beginning Thursday night.
In new numbers released Wednesday by the California Department of Public Health, the region's hospitals reported ICU capacity dipped to 12.9%. Levels had been decreasing over the last few days, something public health officials had expected given the current surge of new coronavirus cases.
The new order will impact San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Solano and Napa counties, which had not joined several Bay Area counties and the City of Berkeley in voluntarily opting in to the California's stay-at-home order earlier this month. Others like Sonoma later joined the group as new cases continued to rise.
"We are probably in the middle of the greatest health crisis in our history," San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa told KCBS Radio's Rebecca Corral. "Us taking this action today is really us going into live-saving mode."
The Bay Area joins the Southern California, San Joaquin Valley and Greater Sacramento regions under the guidelines. Northern California remains the only region above the 15% ICU threshold, holding at 28.1% capacity. The state has defined the Bay Area region as San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties.
"We could've (joined the other counties in implementing the state's regional order) two weeks earlier," Canepa added. "I was encouraging us and the health officer to do that, but we're here now and we're dealing with ICU capacity that is dipping dramatically."
The order goes into effect Thursday at 11:59 p.m. and will last at least three weeks.
"With our case counts at an all-time high and headed higher due to the Thanksgiving surge, our hospitals and health care delivery system are at the breaking point," Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel said. "We urge all residents to adhere to state guidelines as closely as possible to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and help reduce impacts to our most vulnerable residents. Our actions now will help us return to our normal lives sooner rather than later."
Adding in the Bay Area region, 47 counties are now under the order, impacting over 39 million people or 98% of Californians.
Under the regional order, residents will be asked to stay in their homes unless conducting an essential function. In announcing the regional order December 3, Gov. Newsom encouraged Californians to continue to leave their homes, exercise and run errands safely. At that time, projections showed the Bay Area would drop below 15% ICU capacity in mid-December.
While essential businesses remain open, outdoor dining must stop.
Restaurants will be limited to take-out and delivery. Bars, wineries, personal services, hair salons and barbershops will close. Retail is allowed to remain open at 20% capacity, with grocery stores allowed to operate at 35% capacity. Schools and critical infrastructure are allowed to stay open without capacity restrictions. The order also includes a prohibition on leisure travel.
According to the San Francisco's Chronicle's coronavirus tracker, the state set a new record for deaths Tuesday, recording 295 from complications related to COVID-19. Just Tuesday, Marin County said they'd run out of ICU beds.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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