California canceled regional stay-at-home orders on Monday in response to improvement coronavirus conditions, returning the state to a system of provincial restrictions, state health officials announced. CBS San Francisco reports that the move paves the way for a return to a limited number of restaurants, religious services and other activities. Governor Gavin Newsom responded Monday afternoon to the lifted order.
The warrant was in effect in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, which covers the majority of the state’s counties. The change will allow businesses such as restaurants in many areas to resume outdoor activities, although local officials may choose to enforce stricter regulations. The state also lifts a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
“Together we changed our business knowing that our short-term sacrifice would lead to longer-term profit. collective actions save lives and we are turning a critical corner, ”said Dr. Tomas Aragon, the state’s health director, in a statement.
The decision comes with improving trends in infection rates, hospital admissions, intensive care unit capacity and vaccinations.
Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP
Newsom issued the stay-at-home warrant in December as coronavirus cases worsened. According to the system, a multi-county region had to close most businesses and order people to stay at home if ICU capacity fell below 15%. An 11-county Northern California region was never under the order. The Greater Sacramento region abandoned the order last week. The state makes the decisions based on four-week forecasts showing that the ICU’s capacity is improving, but officials have not disclosed the data behind the forecasts.
Over the weekend, the San Francisco Bay Area’s ICU capacity rose to 23%, while the San Joaquin Valley rose to 1.3%, above zero the first time. Southern California’s vast region, the most populous, still has zero ICU capacity.
Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, told CBS San Francisco she was encouraged by the ICU’s availability in the region. She sees firsthand hospital admissions at Zuckerberg San Francisco General, where she also works.
“We didn’t see the predicted increase. We did it on Thanksgiving, and then Christmas and New Year were not as bad as predicted,” she said.
Early last year, the state developed a system of color-coded levels that dictated the level of restrictions for businesses and individuals based on virus conditions in each of California’s 58 counties. Most counties are now reverting to the most restrictive purple tier, which makes it possible to eat outside, have hair and nail salons open, and outside church services. Bars serving drinks only must not be open.
A provincial supervisor in Los Angeles, home to 10 million people, expressed support for opening more businesses in the country. Republican supervisor Kathryn Barger said the state must balance public health with “devastating social, emotional and economic consequences of this virus.”
“I support following the governor-recommended guidelines for Southern California, and the reopening of outdoor dining, personal care and other industries previously closed by these orders,” she said.
The tier system by province uses different measures to determine the risk of community transmission and applies a color code – purple, red, orange or yellow – that corresponds to widespread, substantial, medium and minimal, respectively.
Last weekend, California had more than 3.1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 36,790 deaths, according to the state’s public health website.