Californians prepare for new lockdown
HUNTINGTONBEACH>> Many Californians were preparing Sunday for a new stayat-home order that bars restaurant dining, shutters salons and limits retail in an effort to curb spiraling coronavirus infections and hospitalizations.
The new rules that take effect before midnight in the vast region of Southern California, much of the San Francisco Bay Area and a large swath of the Central Valley also prohibit residents from gathering with people not in their households. But some law enforcement officials said they don’t plan to enforce the rules and are counting on residents to voluntarily wear masks and practice physical distancing to protect themselves during the pandemic.
In Orange County, Sheriff Don Barnes said deputies would be dispatched to calls related to potential criminal acts and to protect life and property — not to solely enforce mask-wearing or these latest stay-at-home orders.
“C omplia nce w ith health orders is a matter of personal responsibility and not a matter of law enforcement,” Barnes said in a statement over the weekend. “Orange County Sheriff’s deputies will not be dispatched to, or respond to, calls for service to enforce compliance with face coverings, social gatherings, or stay-at-home orders only.”
With coronavirus cases rising, Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced a plan to divide the state into five regions and use intensive care unit capacity as a trigger for widespread closures.
It is the most restrictive order since Newsom imposed the country’s first statewide stay- at- home rule in March and comes as the state grapples with soaring COVID-19 infections that have driven hospitalizations above 9,000 and the seven- day positivity rate near 10%.
The rules are expected to affect about eight in 10 California residents and will remain in place at least three weeks, meaning the lockdown will cover the Christmas holiday.
California’s Depar tment of Public Health imposed the order Saturday after intensive care unit capacity in Southern California and Central Valley hospitals fell below a 15% threshold.