Bay Area goes under stay-at-home order as ICU capacity falls below 15%

San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Napa and Solano face new restrictions

A TOTAL of 47 California counties are now under the regional stay-at-home order that limits nonessential businesses and activities after the Bay Area’s intensive care capacity dropped to 12.9%.

Under the state’s mandate announced earlier this month, a region will go under a stay-at-home order 24 hours after its ICU capacity falls below the 15% threshold. It will remain under the lockdown for at least three weeks or until its capacity is equal or above 15%.

The Bay Area — consisting of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma — began its order on Thursday, December 17 at 11:59 p.m., a day after the ICU capacity fell.

The stricter measures apply to San Mateo, Sonoma, Solano and Napa counties, as the other counties had preemptively gone under lockdown on December 7.

Under the order, sectors that must close include: hair salons, barbershops, personal care services, museums, movie theaters, wineries, bars, family entertainment centers, cardrooms, live audience sports and amusement parks.

Meanwhile, retail stores and shopping centers can operate indoors at 20% capacity and 35% for standalone grocery stores, with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores.

Non-essential travel is prohibited. Hotels and lodging can be used for essential workers, COVID-19 mitigation and containment measures or for providing housing solutions.

Restaurants must close indoor and outdoor dining and only allow for takeout or delivery.

Further, offices are encouraged to allow for a remote option if possible, and places of worship can allow outdoor activities. Industries, studios, and other related establishments such as establishments that provide content for professional broadcast can operate without live audiences.

In addition to the Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California are under regional orders. As of this writing, the Northern California region is the only one in the state not under the order.