Upon assessment of the recent, unprecedented rise in the rate of increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and test positivity rates across California, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is taking immediate actions to prevent the spread of the virus.
The State, like the nation, continues to record an unprecedented surge in the level of community spread of COVID-19. California implemented an accelerated application of the Blueprint Framework metrics on November 16 and a limited Stay at Home Order issued on November 19. However, in the interim, the number of new cases per day has increased by over 112%, (from 8,743 to 18,588) and the rate of rise of new cases per day continues to increase dramatically. The number of new hospital admissions has increased from 777 on November 15, to 1,651 on December 2, and because of the lag between case identification and hospitalizations, we can only expect these numbers to increase.
Current projections show that without additional intervention to slow the spread of COVID- 19, the number of available adult Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds in the State of California will be at capacity in mid-December. This is a sign that the rate of rise in cases, if it continues, is at risk of overwhelming the ability of California hospitals to deliver healthcare to its residents suffering from COVID-19 and from other illnesses requiring hospital care. ICU beds are a critical resource for individuals who need the most advanced support and care and the ability to add additional ICU capacity is limited by the lack of available ICU nurses and physicians as a result of the nationwide surge in hospitalizations and ICU admissions.
Because the rate of increases in new cases continues to escalate and threatens to overwhelm the state's hospital system, further aggressive action is necessary to respond to the quickly evolving situation. While vaccines are promising future interventions, they are not available to address the immediate risks to healthcare delivery in the current surge. The immediate aggressive institution of additional non-pharmaceutical public health interventions is critical to avoid further overwhelming hospitals and to prevent the need to ration care.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, as Acting State Public Health Officer of the State of California, order:
1. CDPH will evaluate public health based on Regions, responsive to hospital capacity for persons resident in those Regions.
2. CDPH will evaluate the adult ICU bed capacity for each Region and identify on covid19.ca.gov any Regions for which that capacity is less than 15%. When that capacity is less than 15%, the following terms (the Terms of this Order) will apply.
a. All gatherings with members of other households are prohibited in the Region except as expressly permitted herein.
b. All individuals living in the Region shall stay home or at their place of residence except as necessary to conduct activities associated with the operation, maintenance, or usage of critical infrastructure,[1] as required by law, or as specifically permitted in this order.
c. Worship and political expression are permitted outdoors, consistent with existing guidance for those activities.
d. Critical infrastructure sectors may operate and must continue to modify operations pursuant to the applicable sector guidance.
e. Guidance related to schools remain in effect and unchanged. Accordingly, when this Order takes effect in a Region, schools that have previously reopened for in-person instruction may remain open, and schools may continue to bring students back for in-person instruction under the Elementary School Waiver Process or Cohorting Guidance.
f. In order to reduce congestion and the resulting increase in risk of transmission of COVID-19 in critical infrastructure retailers, all retailers may operate indoors at no more than 20% capacity and must follow the guidance for retailers. All access to retail must be strictly metered to ensure compliance with the limit on capacity. The sale of food, beverages, and alcohol for in- store consumption is prohibited.
g. To promote and protect the physical and mental well-being of people in California, outdoor recreation facilities may continue to operate. Those facilities may not sell food or drink for on-site consumption. Overnight stays at campgrounds are not permitted.
h. Nothing in this Order prevents any number of persons from the same household from leaving their residence, lodging, or temporary accommodation, as long as they do not engage in any interaction with (or otherwise gather with) any number of persons from any other household, except as specifically permitted herein.
i. Terms (a) and (b) of this section do not apply to persons experiencing homelessness.
3. Except as otherwise required by law, no hotel or lodging entity in California shall accept or honor out of state reservations for non-essential travel, unless the reservation is for at least the minimum time period required for quarantine and the persons identified in the reservation will quarantine in the hotel or lodging entity until after that time period has expired.
4. This order shall take effect on December 5, 2020 at 1259pm PST.
5. For Regions where the adult ICU bed capacity falls below 15% after the effective date of this order, the Terms of this Order shall take effect 24 hours after that assessment.
6. The Terms of this Order shall remain in place for at least three weeks from the date the order takes effect in a Region and shall continue until CDPH's four-week projections of the Region's total available adult ICU bed capacity is greater than or equal to 15%. Four-week adult ICU bed capacity projections will be made approximately twice a week, unless CDPH determines that public health conditions merit an alternate projection schedule. If after three weeks from the effective date of the Terms of this Order in a Region, CDPH's four-week projections of the Region's total available adult ICU bed capacity is greater than or equal to 15%, the Terms of this Order shall no longer apply to the Region
7. After the termination of the Terms of this Order in a Region, each county within the Region will be assigned to a tier based on the Blueprint for a Safer Economy as set out in my August 28, 2020 Order, and the County is subject to the restrictions of the Blueprint appropriate to that tier.
8. I will continue to monitor the epidemiological data and will modify this Regional Stay-at-Home Order as required by the evolving public health conditions. If I determine that it is necessary to change the Terms of this Order, or otherwise modify the Regional Stay-at-Home Order, these modifications will be posted at covid19.ca.gov.
9. When operative in a Region, the Terms of this Order supersede any conflicting terms in other CDPH orders, directives, or guidance. Specifically, for those Regions with ICU bed capacity triggering this order, the Terms of this Order shall supersede the State's Blueprint for a Safer Economy and all guidance (other than guidance for critical infrastructure sectors) during the operative period. In all Regions that are not subject to the restrictions in this order, the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and all guidance shall remain in effect.
10. This order is issued pursuant to Health and Safety Code sections 120125, 120130(c), 120135, 120140, 120145, 120175,120195 and 131080; EO N-60-20, N-25-20, and other authority provided for under the Emergency Services Act; and other applicable law.
Erica S. Pan, MD, MPH
Acting State Public Health Officer
California Department of Public Health
[1] Go to the covid19.ca.gov Essential Workforce web page for a full list of California's Critical Infrastructure workforce.
