A regional stay-at-home order will go into effect Sunday night for Santa Barbara and neighboring counties, with new business and travel restrictions, the county Public Health Department announced on Saturday.
Officials said Friday that the order was inevitable since COVID-19-related hospitalizations are increasing fast across Southern California.
The county Public Health Department explains the new restrictions on its website here: https://publichealthsbc.org/regional-stay-at-home-order/.
As of Friday, regional intensive care units were more than 85% full (with only 13.1% of beds available), which is the trigger for the new round of stay-at-home orders.
Local hospitals can create more ICU units, but workforce staffing is an issue, County Supervisor Gregg Hart noted at a public health briefing Friday.
The stay-at-home order goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, and will last three weeks or more. It will be lifted when more than 15% of regional ICU beds are available, according to the state.
“I am dismayed, but not surprised, that the ICU capacity decreased so drastically and quickly in the Southern California region,” Public Health Director Van Do-Reynoso said in a statement Saturday morning. “The sharp decrease in ICU capacity is a consequence of the increasing case rates we have been seeing throughout the state and region.”
Other regions of California are expected to have similar orders put into effect soon, due to diminishing hospital bed availability.
There are some differences from the March stay-at-home order.
Gatherings with people outside your own household are prohibited, as they have been since March (with a few exceptions), and the order builds on the current purple-tier restrictions:
» Retail stores, including grocery stores, and shopping centers can stay open with 20% capacity.
» Restaurants can be open for takeout and delivery only, no in-person dining.
» Bars, wineries, breweries have to close.
» Museums, zoos, and aquariums have to close.
» Movie theaters and family entertainment centers have to close.
» Leisure travel is prohibited. Hotels and other lodging businesses are limited to essential travel.
» Places of worship can hold outdoor services.
» Offices can be open for essential workers, but remote work is encouraged.
» Campgrounds are closed, but other outdoor recreation is allowed, including outdoor gym operations.
» Personal care services (hair salons, nail salons, tattoo parlors, barbershops) have to close.
Medical and dental care, child care, and essential work can continue.
Schools can stay open if they are currently operating and have waivers, but the state is discouraging new openings if a county has a novel coronavirus case rate of 14 per 100,000 residents or higher (Santa Barbara has a 14.1 unadjusted case rate).
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.