After a month of lockdown, Sacramento officials lifted their regional stay-at-home order, which restricted the freedom since last December, on Tuesday, as California State Governor Gavin Newsom confirmed in his tweet.
Newsom’s stay-at-home order was implemented on areas that dropped below 15% in intensive care unit capacity. The restrictions only allowed restaurants to provide take-out and pick-up services. It also banned private gatherings of any size and forced gyms and salons to close down temporarily.
Lifting of Restrictions
On the state’s COVID-19 website, only two areas were allowed to lift the restriction; the Northern California and Sacramento regions. Over 36 million people, or 90% of residents, remain restricted under the stay-at-home order.
“Hospitalization growth rates have slowed. ICU and positivity rates are stabilizing,” Newsom said. The governor still urged California residents to continue following facial covering and social distancing guidelines to help curb the spread of the virus.
Each of the 13 counties is set to return to California’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy tiered system as the Sacramento Region lifts its stay-at-home order. Only Sierra County was not placed under Tier 1 restrictions. Additionally, the eased guidelines allow many businesses to begin operating and serve customers, NPR reported.
As of Tuesday, California has recorded a total of 2,747,288 COVID-19 cases and 30,513 coronavirus-related deaths. Currently, more than 22,000 patients are admitted to hospitals. According to reports, there are zero vacant ICU beds in the Southern California and San Joaquin Valley regions as the number of cases continue to soar high.
