United States

California lifts latest lockdown orders

(The Center Square) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom this week ended stay-at-home orders for the final three regions that were under lockdown as projections for the availability of intensive care unit beds show a significant improvement over the next month.

“Today, we can lay claim to starting to see some real light at the end of the tunnel as it relates to case numbers,” Newsom said at a news conference. “Each region is a little bit different, but we are in a position projecting four weeks forward with a decline in the case rates and positivity rates.”

The regional lockdown orders were implemented in early December and divided the state into five areas – Northern California, Southern California, Greater Sacramento, the Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley – in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

The order went into effect if ICU capacity dropped below 15 percent in any particular region. While Northern California, which is mostly rural, was never put on lockdown, Greater Sacramento exited the order in mid-January. Southern California, the Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley account for about 90 percent of the state’s 39 million residents.

Lifting the stay-at-home order means personal care services like barber shops and hair salons can reopen and restaurants can resume outdoor dining. Gyms, fitness centers, movie theaters and houses of worship can operate outdoors, and retail businesses are limited to 25 percent capacity.

The ban on outdoor dining had been especially controversial. More than 50 restaurants and wineries in Napa and Sonoma counties sued the state last week, saying it was ignoring their constitutional rights and causing financial hardship.

While the ICU projections provide some hope, since mid-December daily confirmed cases have increased, as have the rolling seven-day and 14-day positivity rates.

Since the pandemic began last March, California has had 3,214,777 confirmed cases, including 21,643 on Tuesday, and 38,250 deaths, including 708 on Tuesday.

Public health officials are also concerned about new strains of the coronavirus, which they say are 50 percent more transmissible, and how effective recently developed vaccines will be on the mutant variants.

California reached 1 million confirmed cases in November, then saw that double by the end of the year. The state topped 3 million cases last week, with one out of every 13 residents having contracted the virus at some point.

Authorities are also continuing to investigate the death of a person near Sacramento who died last Thursday just hours after receiving a vaccine shot. The person had tested positive for the virus in December.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said there have been 2.5 cases of anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, for every 1 million doses of the vaccine administered.

Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square

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