Southern California region could face stay-at-home order due to strain on health care

Southern California counties could face a stay-at-home order after the percentage of available intensive care unit beds in the region dropped below 15%, the threshold set by new measure announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this week. 

On Friday night, the percentage of available ICU beds in the Southern California region dropped to 13.1%, according to data released by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).

Newsom divided California into five regions in order to best monitor and regulate Covid-19 in the state: Northern California, Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.

The Southern California Region includes 11 counties: Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. 

The new Regional Stay Home Order, which is aimed at stopping the Covid-19 surge and preventing overwhelming regional ICU capacity in the state, “prohibits private gatherings of any size, closes sector operations except for critical infrastructure and retail, and requires 100% masking and physical distancing in all others,” among other things according to the order.