New stay-at-home order applies to Kern
Fearing hospitals could soon be overwhelmed, state officials have activated a mandatory three-week stay-at-home order in Kern County that took effect just before midnight Sunday and lasts at least through the weekend after Christmas.
The order prohibits private gatherings of any size and requires hair and nail salons, and barbershops, to close. Restaurants can only operate takeout service, retail businesses must limit capacity in stores to 20 percent, and the public is required to wear a mask and physical distance whenever outside their homes. Playgrounds must also be closed under the order.
Schools, however, are able to remain open along with essential businesses.
Noting there was just one ICU bed available at Kern Medical on Saturday afternoon, Leticia Perez, chairwoman of the Kern County Board of Supervisors, whose district includes the hospital, called on the public to understand the seriousness of how the pandemic was impacting local medical systems. “That’s our only trauma center in a 100-mile radius. This is everybody’s problem,” Perez said. “Car accidents, acts of violence, any kind of serious trauma, we are running out of bed space for, and the numbers are climbing.”
“This is not the time to let fatigue overcome us. This is the time we step up and hold each other accountable because of the seriousness of what we’re about to see right here in Kern County,” she said.
The new restrictions were triggered when the state reported Friday night that the San Joaquin Valley region’s intensive care unit capacity fell below 15 percent. On Saturday, it fell further, to 8.6 percent. The state’s order took effect just before midnight Saturday and counties were to implement the order over the next 24 hours.
Kern County had about 36 of its 228 ICU beds, or 14 percent of its capacity, available on Saturday, according to Kern County Public Health Services spokeswoman Michelle Corson. Other counties in the region were much worse off. Kings County was reporting no ICU beds available as of Friday, according to a state website. Fresno had only five ICU beds available as of Friday, according to the state.
“The intent (of the stayat-home order) is to limit contact with those who are sick. By limiting activity and interaction with others you limit the possibility of transmission of the disease,” said Matt Constantine, Kern County Public Health Services director, of the new state order. “Whatever we do to minimize the spread is going to keep our ICU beds open and our hospitals available, and keep us safe.”
Constantine, however,
said there is some confusion over who is impacted by the orders as the list of essential businesses has changed slightly. His office will continue to work this week to understand the order and educate local businesses on who is impacted and how, he said.
Issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the new order divides the state into five regions and uses ICU capacity as the trigger for closures. The San Joaquin Valley region is made up of Calaveras, Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, San Benito, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare and Tuolumne counties. The order was also activated in the Southern California region, which includes 11 counties.
The other three regions — Northern California, Bay Area and Greater Sacramento — each had more than 20 percent ICU capacity on Saturday, according to the state.
“We’re in zombie apocalypse territory on the epidemiological side of things,” said Andrew Noymer, associate professor of public health at UC Irvine, speaking of the COVID-19 situation statewide. He said he believed the state’s order is necessary though he understands why some are opposed to it, in particular owners of small restaurants and businesses.
Nick Hansa, a local physician and owner of Chef’s Choice Noodle Bar in downtown Bakersfield, said Saturday he was preparing to shift his restaurant back to takeout-only mode. He bemoaned yet another change to his business model, which also affects his employees and their income.
The latest round of restrictions on restaurants comes at a critical time, Hansa said, as many restaurants in Bakersfield do great business between Thanksgiving and Christmas after a usually lackluster summer due to the heat.
“This is the critical time for us,” he said.
On a Facebook page for local restaurants, several eateries posted about the governor’s order, urging patrons to visit one last time last weekend before the order took effect. Others thanked customers for their ongoing support as they constantly shift how they have to do business.
Some customers wrote back pleading with restaurants to fight back and stay open.
Hansa said some of his
patrons have made similar requests but he also hears from others who have been personally impacted by the virus. He said for the sake of his employees’ and customers’ safety, he feels the right thing to do is follow the order.
“We don’t feel good about taking chances for our employees. We don’t want to be told, ‘We told you so’ if we defy and stay open and have employees come down with (the virus),” he said. “How would we justify that for a few dollars?”
He said as a physician he gets the need to implement measures for the sake of public health, but the business owner in him feels the government agencies issuing those edicts don’t have a full grasp of how hard they impact businesses financially. He feels more government grants are needed to help struggling restaurants and other businesses survive.
“They’re being cautious, but if they could make ways for people to survive it (financially), it could be helpful,” he said.
Noymer, the epidemiologist, agreed that the federal government needs to provide aid and assistance to those impacted by the severe restrictions required to arrest the spread of the virus.
“And that’s why we need Washington, D.C., to step up,” Noymer said. “If the government is not here to help in a zombie apocalypse then what are they here for?”
Perez acknowledged how difficult the stay-at-home orders have been. Her two sons missed out on having birthday parties and she had to cancel a backyard dinner with her quarantine bubble to celebrate her own birthday last weekend. She figures the family will likely be celebrating Christmas at home together without friends and relatives. But she said it’s what’s necessary to get through this final stretch of the pandemic before the vaccine becomes available.
“I know how frustrating this is but I believe we are in the ninth inning here,” Perez said. “The vaccine is right around the corner.”