Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
In response to the exponential increase in COVID-19 cases in California, state Governor Gavin Newsom and the state Department of Public Health today announced a limited stay home order, which requires work, movement and non-essential meetings to stop between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. in counties with a home alert.
The order, says a government statement, will take effect on Saturday, November 21 from 10 p.m. until December 21 at 5 a.m. in counties with a purple alert, which are being affected with the highest rates of positive cases of SARS-CoV-2 and hospitalizations for COVID-19.
"The virus is spreading at a rate we haven't seen since the beginning of the pandemic; the next few days and weeks will be critical in stopping the increase - of cases. We are sounding the alarm," said Governor Newsom. "It's crucial that we act to decrease transmission and delay hospitalizations before the death toll rises. We've done it before and we need to do it again," he added.
The limited order with the name "Stay at Home (Stay Home)" is designed to reduce disease transmission, the document states.
It also details that activities performed between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. - often non-essential and more frequently related to social activities - and meetings that are more likely to lead to inhibition and reduced likelihood of compliance with safety measures, such as wearing a mask and practicing social distancing.
"We know from our stay home order this spring, which bent the curve in California, that reducing movement and avoiding crowding dramatically decreases the spread of COVID-19, hospitalizations and deaths," said Mark Ghaly, California's secretary of health and human services.
He added that additional, more stringent measures may need to be taken if the curve is not flattened quickly, while these harsh, temporary measures could help prevent future curfews.
For her part, Erica Pan, interim public health officer for the state of California, said that these actions are asking people to change their daily lives to stop the increase in contagion: "We must be strong together and make hard choices to stay socially connected, but physically distant during this critical time. Dropping our guard could endanger the lives of thousands of people and overwhelm our health care system," he said.
The rate of COVID-19 cases increased by approximately 50 percent in California during the first week of November and, as a result, Governor Newsom along with state public health officials have announced a list of measures to protect citizens and, in turn, the state's health care system.
Just Monday, the state put an "emergency brake" on the Plan for a Safer Economy, putting more than 94 percent of California's population on the purple alert, the most restrictive of all.
The government said that the state will pay attention to the data continuously and more counties could enter a more restrictive alert level if necessary; additionally, people are required to wear masks when away from home.
Also, late last week, the state issued a travel alert, along with Oregon and Washington, urging people entering the state or returning home after travel to be quarantined to stop the spread of the virus.
The travel alert also calls for avoiding non-essential travel outside California and asks people to be quarantined for 14 days after arriving from another state or country; finally, residents are encouraged to stay home.
