California health officials said the number of available ICU beds in the San Francisco Bay Area continues to decline, to 6.3% capacity Friday. That leads many Bay Area health experts to say that a stay-at-home order that initially expires next week is likely to be renewed, CBS SF Bay Area reports. San Francisco has already done that.
The possibility of a long-term ban on outdoor dining is a cause for concern for many restaurant owners. Mexico owner Tipico in Union City invested thousands of dollars in his outdoor setup and heat lamps. He hoped to use them again next week.
“All restaurants in this area are affected because there are no business now,” said Ricardo Soto, who runs Mexico Tipico. “The families who come down want to enjoy food at the table, not take it away.”
Soto said an extension of the outdoor dining ban could lead to more layoffs at his restaurant, but several restaurateurs said they are not surprised at the prospect of an extension.
“We’ve played so many times that I’m tired of playing. I feel like I’m falling down,” said Eric Nielsen, a business associate at two restaurants in downtown San Jose. Again, this feels indefinite. Even if we’re open at the end of February, what does that look like? Like, are we actually open again to eat outside? And if so, then I hope it will audience comes out again. ”
San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa said he feels for the small businesses, but said ICU capacity is dire and that’s what the state is looking at when imposing the health mandate.
“Right now, we are in life-saving mode, make no mistake about that. So the actions we are taking today will really ensure that we are protected in the future,” said Canepa.
The supervisor said that about 5% of the county’s ICU beds are currently available. He is urging the county health department to renew the health mandate and follow San Francisco’s lead.
“We don’t even calculate the figures for December 25th, the Christmas numbers and, moreover, the New Years figures,” said supervisor Canepa.
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF, said hospitals are likely to see more COVID patients in the coming days due to holiday meetings.
“Inevitably we’ll have a rise (caused by the Thanksgiving holiday) on top of a rise (due to Christmas) on top of a rise (in illegal New Year’s Eve parties). If you look at the Christmas trip before it even exceeded Thanksgiving, for example, which was already the highest travel period of the year, “said Dr. Chin-Hong.
He said the number of COVID patients should decline by the end of January.