Orders currently in effect in the Bay Area and three other California regions are likely to remain in effect beyond the three-week minimum duration, state officials confirmed Friday.
The state’s stay-at-home order is triggered when the average capacity of a region’s intensive care unit falls below 15 percent. The Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California are currently under the order, the California Department of Public Health said.
The earliest date the Bay Area will be eligible to leave the order is Jan. 8, the State Department said. Greater Sacramento could be eligible to vacate the order as early as January 1, while San Joaquin and Southern California may be eligible by next Monday, December 28.
Available ICU capacity in the last two regions has fallen to a stark 0 percent, according to the department. In the Bay Area, ICU capacity is 9.8 percent and in greater Sacramento, ICU capacity is 16.7 percent, the department said.
The State Department prediction was in line with an announcement Monday from Governor Gavin Newsom. The governor said at the time that the skyrocketing COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations would likely keep the stay-at-home orders in effect for multiple regions of the state.
The health department said on Friday that California has 2,042,290 confirmed cases to date, although the numbers may not represent a true daily change as test results reporting may be delayed. There were 39,144 new confirmed cases Thursday, and the 7-day positivity rate is 11.9 percent, while the 14-day positivity rate is 12.4 percent, the department said.