Many state regions begin lockdown as virus surges

New regional shelter- inplace orders will last until just days after Christmas

As millions of Californians entered into the strictest lockdown since the first months of the pandemic, a dangerous coronavirus surge was inundating hospitals with patients, the largest school system in the state shuttered, and outdoor playgrounds were forced to close in an effort to stem further infections.

The situation has become so bleak that Bay Area hospitals were canceling elective surgeries and anticipating a need to start transferring patients to other facilities in the coming days. The overall ICU capacity in the San Joaquin Valley region sank to a frightening 6.3%. Los Angeles

public schools on Monday announced a shutdown for all in- person tutoring and special services, effectively ending what little face- toface teaching was occurring in the second- largest school district in the country.

California’s new stayathome order took effect Monday in more than 80% of the state and will extend at least through Christmas — another blow to a devastating year.

For the first time in the pandemic, the state is averaging 20,000 new coronavirus cases per day — a rate five times higher than at the start of November. And, on Monday, the state surpassed 30,000 cases in a single day, setting a new record. More Californians also are in the hospital with COVID19 than ever before, tallying more than 10,000, with at least 2,200 in the ICU, according to the latest data from the state.

Yolo County has now seen 5,492 cases since the start of

the pandemic, 125 of those coming on Monday alone. However, the number of deaths in Yolo County remained the same at 84. Hospitalizations were also unchanged on Monday, at 22. But Yolo County is included in the Sacramento region, and if the region’s rate falls below 15% then further closures will be implemented.

For example, as of Monday, Santa Clara County, the hardest- hit in the Bay Area, maintained just 50 empty ICU beds for its 2 million residents, with many facilities left with fewer than five open. The county on Monday smashed its record for new coronavirus cases reported in a single day with 1,431 cases — the first time the county has ever hit four digits in a single day, according to data compiled by this organization.

“The hospitals are doing their parts. They are working very hard to balance the load among themselves,” said Dr. Ahmad Kamala, Santa Clara County COVID19 director of healthcare preparedness. “… But they cannot do this alone. We need to all redouble our efforts right now to help prevent the spread of COVID.”

Public health experts say the critical conditions across the state mark the beginning of the anticipated increased caseload resulting from hazardous mingling during the Thanksgiving holiday.

“I think we’re far enough out to say that this is a consequence of Thanksgiving week and travel and mixing,” said George Rutherford, an epidemiologist at UC San Francisco. “In California, the change in slope, the acceleration in cases, looks very similar to what happened in Canada after the Canadian Thanksgiving.”

Since hospitalizations and deaths typically lag about two to three weeks behind cases, the steep rise in cases suggests an inevitable worsening of the already dire situation in hospitals around the state.

And as if the explosive surge in California’s coronavirus cases wasn’t creating enough concern, some worry that the current uptick related to Thanksgiving will bleed right into the Christmas and New Years holidays.