Covid-19 Christmas Lockdown Kicks In As ICU Capability Tumbles & Circumstances Surge – .

The surge in coronavirus cases and the availability of intensive care beds will almost certainly push Los Angeles and the rest of Southern California into a new lockdown this weekend.

Late on Friday evening, the state Department of Health said the ICU capacity in Southern California had quickly dropped to just 13.1%.

If the area stayed below the 15% hazard point identified by Governor Gavin Newsom on December 3 for just one more day, his regional home stay order would go into effect early Sunday.

Once triggered, the status sequence will automatically take effect for three weeks.

In this case, it means that hard-hit Southern California would be essentially locked through Hanukkah and Christmas until at least the tip of the year 2021. The order could take even longer, depending on the findings of health officials examining the hospital’s bed capacity, transmission rates, and case growth.

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Covid-19 Confusion: What You Need to Know About Duel Stay-at-Home Orders From LA City, LA County, and the State of California

News tonight that the drop has fallen below 15% follows a warning from LA Mayor Eric Garcetti on Friday night that the stay at home order “this weekend or next week” could become a reality . The LA County Health Department announced Friday that there was a new high of 8,860 cases in the area and 2,668 people are currently hospitalized. Approximately 24% of people hospitalized with coronavirus are in intensive care.

In total, LA County has “approximately” 2,500 intensive care beds, said Christina Ghaly, director of health care, on Dec. 3.

Governor Newsom set out on Thursday how the state was divided into the five regions of Southern California, the Bay Area, rural Northern California, the Greater Sacramento Region and the San Joaquin Valley for Covid-19 organizational purposes. The sprawling region of Southern California with more than 7% free fall in ICU in less than 24 hours consists of LA County, Orange County, and Riverside, San Diego, Ventura, Imperial, Mono, San Bernardino and Inyo, San Luis Obispo, counties Santa Barbara.

Even if their ICU capacity is a relatively good 21.2% as of tonight, some districts in the Bay Area have already decided to stay at home in anticipation. With severe bed shortages like SoCal, the San Joaquin Valley currently has an intensive capacity of 14.1%, according to CDPH data

This strict policy from Governor Newsom, overriding city and county measures, would require all citizens of the area concerned to remain in their homes, except for essential matters such as masked and socially distant purchase of food and exercise. In addition, since private gatherings are not allowed, there would be travel restrictions and retail capacity would be reduced to 20%. Outdoor restaurants, bars, playgrounds, zoos, museums, wineries, and salons, among others, will be closed. Grocery collection would still be allowed, and a number of key services such as childcare would be allowed to remain open, at least for the time being.

LA city and county officials are expected to raise the situation on Saturday morning. Nationwide, the numbers look just as alarming as in southern Germany.

There have been 14.4 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 and around 280,000 deaths that year, a number many consider on the conservative side. New York State has had the highest number of deaths from the coronavirus, with over 34,000 deaths. Texas has nearly 23.00 deaths and California has suffered 19,800.