Lockdown for Southern Calif.

San Joaquin Valley also placed under new virus restrictions

SAN FRANCISCO — Faced with a dire shortage of hospital beds, health officials announced Saturday the vast region of Southern California and a large swath of the Central Valley will be placed under a sweeping new lockdown in an urgent attempt to slow the rapid rise of coronavirus cases.

The California Department of Public Health said the intensive care unit capacity in both regions’ hospitals had fallen below a 15 percent threshold that triggers the new measures, which include strict closures for businesses and new controls on activities. They will take effect Sunday evening and remain in place for at least three weeks, meaning the lockdown will cover the Christmas holiday.

Much of the state is on the brink of the same restrictions. Some regions have opted to impose them even before the mandate kicks in, including five San Francisco Bay Area counties where the measures also take effect starting Sunday.

With a new lockdown looming, many rushed out to supermarkets

Saturday and lined up outside salons to squeeze in a haircut before the orders in some areas take effect Sunday.

San Francisco resident Michael Duranceau rushed to a market to prepare.

“I’m just stocking up before Sunday — the basics, bread, eggs,” he told KGO-TV, clutching a heavy grocery bag and a baguette.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the new plan Thursday. It is the most restrictive order since he imposed the country’s first statewide stay-athome rule in March.

The new order divides the state into five regions and uses ICU capacity as the trigger for closures.

The measures bar all on-site restaurant dining and close hair and nail salons, movie theaters and many other businesses, as well as museums and playgrounds. Newsom also says people may not congregate with anyone outside their household and must always wear masks when they go outside.

The 11-county Southern California region, which includes the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, had only 12.5 percent of its ICU beds available, the California Department of Public Health reported Saturday. The figure was 8.6 percent for the San Joaquin Valley region, which comprises a dozen counties in the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada.

Together, the two regions are home to more than half of California’s population.

“We are at a point where surging cases and hospitalizations are not letting up,” said Dr. Salvador Sandoval, public health officer for the Central Valley city of Merced. “Everyone must take personal steps to protect themselves and protect others.”

The other three regions — Greater Sacramento, Northern California and San Francisco Bay Area — were all around 21 percent capacity.

But health officers in five of the Bay Area’s 11 counties didn’t wait. On Friday, they adopted the state’s stay-at-home order. The changes take effect Sunday night in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Marin, Alameda and Contra Costa counties, as well as the city of Berkeley.

“We don’t think we can wait for the state’s new restrictions to go into effect. … This is an emergency,” Contra Costa Health Officer Chris Farnitano said.