Today, December 3, 2020, the Governor’s office announced a new Regional Stay Home order, which is likely to go into effect in the near future.

The Order divides California’s counties into five Regions – Northern California, Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California.  The Order will go into effect in a Region when the Region’s ICU availability falls below 15%, and will last for at least three weeks.

Again, the Order is not effective yet in any of the five Regions, but it is expected to become effective in one or more Regions as soon as next week or even the next few days.

When a Region becomes subject to the Order, the following sectors must close entirely:

  • Indoor and outdoor playgrounds
  • Indoor recreational facilities
  • Hair salons and barbershops
  • Personal care services
  • Museums, zoos, aquariums
  • Movie theaters and family entertainment centers
  • Bars, breweries and distilleries
  • Live audience sports
  • Amusement parks

The following sectors will not be required to close entirely, but must operate subject to certain restrictions:

  • Restaurants will be open only for take-out and delivery; no indoor OR outdoor dining.
  • Retail and shopping centers will be open at only 20% capacity with no eating or drinking in stores.
  • Hotels and lodging will be open only for critical infrastructure support.
  • Places of worship may allow outdoor services only.
  • Offices must be remote only, except for critical infrastructure sectors where remote working is not possible.

Indoor private gatherings will not be permitted in counties in the Widespread (Purple) Tier.  Currently, every county in the Southern California region, as defined, is in the Purple Tier except for Inyo County.

The following sectors will be allowed to remain open, but with 100% masking and physical distancing:

  • Critical infrastructure
  • Non-urgent medical and dental care
  • Schools that are already open
  • Childcare and pre-kindergarten

As a reminder, the thirteen critical infrastructure sectors are:

  1. Health and Public Health Sector
  2. Emergency Services Sector
  3. Food and Agriculture Sector
  4. Energy Sector
  5. Water and Wastewater Sector
  6. Transportation and Logistics Sector
  7. Communications and Information Technology Sector
  8. Government Operations and Other Community-Based Essential Functions
  9. Critical Manufacturing Sector
  10. Financial Services Sector
  11. Chemical Sector
  12. Defense Industrial Base Sector
  13. Industrial, Commercial, Residential and Sheltering Facilities and Services