CA Expects To Close Dining, Hair Salons, Bars And More This Week

Courtney Teague
Updated ·4 min read

CALIFORNIA — As COVID-19 virus cases, hospitalizations and deaths spike across California in the wake of Thanksgiving, most of the state this week will likely see the closure of hair salons and barbershops, outdoor dining, bars and more, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday.

More than 18,500 COVID-19 virus cases have been reported across the state in the past day. Hospitalizations have increased 86 percent in the past 14 days, and the number of intensive care unit patients has increased 67 percent in a similar time frame, Newsom said.

In total, more than 1,260,000 COVID-19 virus cases have been reported across California, as of Thursday. More than 19,000 deaths have been linked to the coronavirus.

"If we don't act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed," Newsom said during a Thursday afternoon news conference.

The stay-at-home order will be rolled out in five regions of California, where a region has reached less than 15 percent ICU capacity. Those five regions include Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, the San Joaquin Valley, Greater Sacramento and Northern California.



The Bay Area is the lone region that may not fall under the stay-at-home order within the next day or two, Newsom said. It is currently projected to reach 15 percent of its ICU capacity in mid-to-late December.

Regions will remain under the stay-at-home order for at least three weeks.

The order calls for the closure of hair salons and barbershops, personal care services, bars and wineries, Newsom said. Restaurants may remain open for take-out and delivery, and retail can remain open at 20 percent capacity.

Schools that have already received waivers may remain open. Critical infrastructure may also remain open.

Any regions that are placed under the stay-at-home order will be subject to the restrictions for at least three weeks, but counties will independently exit the stay-at-home order. Officials will look at ICU capacity projections a month in advance before determining whether a county should no longer be subject to the stay-at-home order, said Dr. Mark Ghaly, state Health and Human Services secretary.

Counties that exit the stay-at-home order will be placed in the appropriate tier of the state's four-tiered, color-coded COVID-19 risk assessment system.

Newsom also called on Californians to stop gathering with others outside of their household, and to wear masks while participating in outdoor activities. He urged Golden State residents to heed the state's travel advisory, which seeks to restrict nonessential travel.

State officials do not anticipate enacting a similar stay-at-home order again.

"This is not a permanent state. This is what many had projected — we had predicted the final surge in this pandemic," Newsom said. "There is light at the end of the tunnel."

Vaccines For Health Care Workers

Newsom announced Monday that California was set to receive 327,000 COVID-19 virus vaccines in mid-December. On Thursday, he laid out which Californians will be first in line to receive a vaccine.

People in the following facilities are top priority: acute care, psychiatric and correctional facility hospitals; skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities and other settings for older and medically vulnerable people; paramedics, EMTs and other emergency medical service providers; and dialysis centers.

The second priority tier for COVID-19 vaccines includes intermediate care facilities; home health care and in-home supportive services; community health workers; public health field staff; and primary care clinics, including Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Centers, correctional facility clinics and urgent care clinics.

The third priority tier for vaccines includes specialty clinics; laboratory workers; dental and oral health clinics; and other pharmacy staff not included in the other tiers.

The vaccinations will be distributed across six different regions in California, which are different from the state's five stay-at-home order regions.

Surge Facilities, PPE Stockpile Ready

Newsom also reminded the public Thursday of the 11 additional facilities set up to accommodate patients outside of the health care system.

They include:

  • Imperial Valley College FMS (Imperial County; open now): 115 beds

  • ARCO/Sleep Train Arena PRactice Facility (Sacramento County; opening Dec. 9): 224 beds

  • Fairview Development Center (Orange County): 180 beds

  • Porterville Development Center (Tulare County): 123 beds

  • Riverside County Fairgrounds (Riverside County): 125 beds

  • Vacant Sears Building (Riverside County): 125 beds

  • San Mateo County Event Center (San Mateo County: 250 beds

  • The Craneway Pavillion (Contra Costa County): 250 beds

  • Fresno Convention & Entertainment Center (Fresno County): 125 beds

  • Palomar Medical Center (San Diego County): 200 beds

  • San Francisco FMS (San Francisco County): 125 beds

California has stockpiled a significant amount of personal protective equipment in the fight against the coronavirus. The state has amassed 339 million procedure masks, 179 million N95 masks, 64 million gowns, 145 million gloves, 23 million face shields, and more than 20,000 ventilators.

This article originally appeared on the Across California Patch