Regional stay-at-home order kicks in for Southern California
LOS ANGELES - A regional stay-at-home order issued by Governor Gavin Newsom was in effect Monday for all of Southern California.
Los Angeles County announced it will be under Governor Gavin Newsom's new stay-at-home order Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. The county announced it tweaked its current health orders to align with the state's order.
Gov. Gavin Newsom's "regional stay-at-home" went into effect at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, triggered when intensive-care unit bed availability remained below 15% in the 11-county Southern California region after Saturday's daily update, according to the California Department of Public Health.
RELATED: SoCal could soon be under Newsom's stay-at-home order after ICU capacity drops below 15 percent
The Southern California region consists of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
The region's available ICU capacity was 10.3% on Sunday, down from 12.5% Saturday and 13.1% Friday.
According to the most recent data available Saturday morning, Los Angeles County had 21% of its ICU beds available and Orange County had 20%, but those numbers could fall later in the day if recent trends continue.
RELATED: Continuing coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic in Southern California
The stay-at-home order will be in place for three weeks and will bar gatherings of people from different households. Regions will be eligible to exit from the order on Dec. 28 if ICU capacity projections for the following month are above or equal to 15%.
Under the order, the following businesses/recreational facilities will be forced to close:
-- indoor and outdoor playgrounds;
-- indoor recreational facilities;
-- hair salons and barbershops;
-- personal care services;
-- museums, zoos, and aquariums;
-- movie theaters;
-- wineries;
-- bars, breweries and distilleries;
-- family entertainment centers;
-- cardrooms and satellite wagering;
-- limited services;
-- live audience sports; and
-- amusement parks.
Schools with waivers will be allowed to remain open, along with "critical infrastructure" and retail stores, which will be limited to 20% of capacity.
Restaurants will be restricted to takeout and delivery service only.
Hotels would be allowed to open "for critical infrastructure support only, "while churches would be restricted to outdoor only services. Entertainment production -- including professional sports -- would be allowed to continue without live audiences.
Some of those restrictions are already in effect in select counties.
Los Angeles County shattered its daily record of coronavirus cases Sunday as another 10,528 infections were reported, the fifth time in the past six days that a new record has been set.
The number of county residents hospitalized with the virus, already at an all-time high, rose from 2,769 on Saturday to 2,855.
"As case numbers and hospitalizations continue to rapidly increase, the number of individuals who will experience severe health outcomes will also increase," county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. "The best thing to do right now and in the upcoming holiday season isto stay at home and not travel."
"Encourage your family and friends to stay connected virtually and delay meeting in person until we are at a better place in the pandemic. Collectively, we have a chance to slow the spread and save lives," she said.
Newsom said the order is "fundamentally predicated on the need to stop gathering with people outside of your household, to do what you can to keep most of your activities outside and, of course, always ... wear face coverings, wear a mask."
The governor also noted that the state still has a travel advisory in place recommending against non-essential travel and urging people to quarantine when they return to the state.
The regional stay-at-home order strongly urges residents to cancel any non-essential travel.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state's Health and Human Services secretary, acknowledged there is no real mechanism for enforcing such a travel restriction, but the state will rely on public cooperation.
"We believe that really emphasizing this is what we hope our citizens will do because their communities are at particularly high risk, their hospitals are having difficulty keeping available ICU beds open, that people will restrict their travel statewide," he said.
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CNS contributed to this report.