Here’s everything you need to know about the new COVID order.
Charlie and Sadie at Cardiff Beach
The order itself goes into effect on Saturday December 5th, at 1 p.m., but restrictions won’t be applied in San Diego County until the collective ICU capacity of the Southern California region falls below 15 percent. Currently we are at 20% for the region.
State officials said they would update each region’s ICU capacity on its website daily.
The following sectors must close:
• Indoor and outdoor playgrounds
• Indoor recreational facilities
• Hair salons and barbershops
• Personal care services
• Museums, zoos, aquariums and movie theaters
• Wineries, bars, breweries and distilleries
• Family entertainment centers
• Cardrooms and satellite wagering
• Live audience sports
• Amusement parks
The following sectors can remain open but with modifications that include mandatory masking and physical distancing:
Outdoor recreational facilities: Unlike previous stay-at-home orders, outdoor recreational facilities can remain open “to promote and protect the physical and mental well-being” of residents. That includes beaches, parks and outdoor gyms; however, none may sell food or drink for on-site consumption. Overnight stays at campgrounds are off the table, as well.
Retail and shopping centers: Retail spaces and shopping centers are allowed to operate at 20 percent capacity with entrance metering. No eating or drinking is allowed in stores, and businesses should set up special hours of operation for high-risk populations like seniors.
Hotels and lodging: The new stay-at-home order prohibits hotel use for tourism, leisure and other nonessential reasons. Hotel and other lodging locations can remain open, but only to support critical infrastructure sectors.
Restaurants: In another big hit to the food industry, restaurants are only allowed to be open for takeout, pick-up or delivery under the new order.
Offices: Office locations should arrange for employees to work remotely, except in the case of critical infrastructure sectors where remote working is impossible.
Places of worship and political expression: Only outdoor services or gatherings are allowed.
Professional sports and other entertainment productions: These entities are allowed to operate without live audiences. Strict testing protocols are highly encouraged.
Schools: Schools can continue to operate in their current modes. Those that have previously reopened for in-person instruction can remain open and schools can continue to bring kids back for in-person education under the state’s Elementary School Waiver process.
Child care and pre-K programs can also remain open.
Under the new order, Californians are being told to cancel all nonessential travel plans.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, California’s secretary of health and human services, said the regional strategy is designed to ensure that there is somewhere to transfer overflow patients in counties where ICU beds fill up or staffing levels are not adequate to meet demand.
“When capacity can’t be met within a specific county, we lean on neighboring counties and their hospital delivery systems,” Ghaly said.
For the mandate to end, San Diego County’s region must have its forecasted ICU capacity for the next four weeks be 15 percent or greater. Each county within that region can then return to their existing reopening tier system determined by its coronavirus case and test positivity rates, to determine what industries can reopen.
