SAN FRANCISCO — The health officers in six San Francisco Bay Areas counties issued a new stay-at-home order Friday as the number of virus cases surge and hospitals fill.
The changes will take effect Sunday and last through Jan. 4. The counties have not yet reached Gov. Gavin Newsom’s threshold announced a day earlier requiring such an order when 85% of ICU beds at regional hospitals are full, but they said the hospital system will be overwhelmed before the end of December when Newsom’s order would apply.
“We don’t think we can wait for the state’s new restrictions to go into effect later this month. This is an emergency,” said Contra Costa Health Officer Chris Farnitano.
It means restaurants will have to close to both indoor and outdoor dining, bars and wineries must close along with hair and nail salons and playgrounds. Retail stores and shopping centers can operate with just 20% customer capacity. Gatherings of any size with people outside of your household are banned.
“If you have a social bubble, it is now popped,” said Berkeley health officer Lisa Hernandez. “Do not let this be the last holiday with your family.”
The new stay-at-home order will cur sharply into the most profitable shopping season and threaten financial ruin for businesses already struggling after 10 months of on-again, off-again restrictions and slow sales because of the pandemic.
The five Bay Area counties, along with San Mateo County, were the first region in the country to order a lockdown on March 17 when the area of 7 million people had fewer than 280 cases and just three deaths. San Mateo County officials were not part of the news conference Friday announcing the changes.