|
State’s Regional Stay at Home Order to Take Effect in SLO County on Sunday Night
Community members should prepare now for the State’s Regional Stay at Home Order to take effect on Sunday, Dec. 6 at 11:59 p.m. The ICU capacity for the Southern California region, which includes San Luis Obispo County, fell below the State’s 15% trigger Friday evening.
“We are disappointed to be categorized in the Southern California region and continue to ask State officials to reconsider our regional assignment to better represent the local ICU capacity,” said Dr. Penny Borenstein, County Health Officer. “However, COVID-19 is spreading fast in SLO County, and in the past 14 days, 11 people with COVID-19 have died in our community.”
The Southern California ICU bed capacity dropped to 13.1% yesterday and officials expect that number to drop even further today. While SLO County’s ICU capacity is higher than the rest of the Southern California region, SLO County is still seeing negative impacts of this pandemic locally. Local cases have skyrocketed in the past month and the County reported that six local community members died from COVID-19 since Nov. 21. Five more people with COVID-19 have died this week, but local health officials are waiting for the death certificates to confirm that they in fact died from COVID-19.
|
|
The State’s order will result in closures of various sectors, including indoor and outdoor playgrounds; hair salons and personal care services; wineries, bars, breweries and distilleries, and more. Certain sectors can remain open with modifications, including outdoor recreational facilities, retailers (20% capacity limit), restaurants (take-out, pick-up or delivery only), and hotels (for critical infrastructure support). Critical infrastructure sectors, schools that are already open for in-person learning, childcare, and pre-K, and medical and dental care may remain open.
“While we encourage people to stay home as much as possible, except for critical services, school, and outdoor activities for physical and mental health, let’s also focus on supporting our community and turning the pandemic around in SLO County,” Dr. Borenstein. “If you can: shop local online, order take-out from your favorite local restaurant, and reach out to friends and family who may need support during this temporary shutdown.”
|
|
What Can You Do?
- Prepare now. If you own or manage a business or workplace that will need to close, prepare for closure now.
- Rally around local businesses and neighbors. If you can, shop from local retailers in person (retailers can operate indoors with a 20% capacity limit and special hours for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems) and online from the safety of your home, order from local restaurants and eateries (allowed only for take-out, pick-up, or delivery), and support local nonprofits.
- Get assistance. There is help for you if you are struggling. Visit www.ReadySLO.org for local and State resources to help you get through this time.
- Take your children to child care or pre-K or school (if open for in-person instruction).
- Continue to access critical services, including medical and dental care and critical infrastructure services.
- Enjoy outdoor activities to preserve your physical and mental health. Outdoor recreational facilities are also allowed to operate outdoor only without any food, drink or alcohol sales.
- Slow the spread in SLO County. The order will remain in effect for at least 3 weeks and, after that period, will be lifted when a region’s projected ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15%. This will be assessed on a weekly basis after the initial 3 week period. After that, counties can return to the tiered system, which means if we decrease our case counts and positivity rate, we could open up businesses based on the Red or Orange Tier restrictions after the order is lifted for our region.
You can help us get there by:
- Staying positive, and testing negative. Get tested for COVID-19.
- Wear a face covering.
- Stay home as much as possible (and especially when you are sick).
- Limit mixing with other households.
- Limit non-essential travel to areas outside of SLO County.
|
|
Today's Local News Briefing
|
|
|
|
Watch today's local press briefing for more details.
|
|
Get More Updates on COVID-19 in SLO County:
Visit ReadySLO.org or call the recorded Public Health Information Line at (805) 788-2903. A staffed phone assistance center at (805) 543-2444 is available Monday - Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for major holidays, to assist with questions related to COVID-19.
|
|
|
|
|
