Gov. Gavin Newsom is considering a more restrictive stay-at-home order covering much of California, something similar to what residents dealt with as the coronavirus pandemic started in the spring.
He says 51 out of California's 58 counties are now in the most-restrictive purple tier on the reopening scale, and he says that purple could get deeper, as coronavirus cases continue to go higher.
"Within the next number of weeks, one to two weeks based upon Thanksgiving activities and all the efforts to educate people against those activities and gatherings that we will see an increase in cases," he says.
The order would impact those in the state’s purple reopening tier or "deep purple counties," as the governor said Monday. He made the comments during a media briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic, in which he also described major concerns over lessening ICU capacity and growing hospitalizations.
The state’s COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased by 89% over the last two weeks. Current projections show the state will run out of ICU beds by Christmas Eve "if these trends continue," according to Gov. Newsom.
Both San Francisco and San Mateo counties joined much of the Bay Area in the state’s purple reopening tier over the weekend.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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