O.C. businesses must comply with the new COVID-19 orders by Dec. 6

Today the Southern California Region dropped below the 15 percent Intensive Care Unit (ICU) capacity thereby triggering the state of California’s “Regional Stay-at-Home Order” as was announced on December 3, 2020 by Governor Gavin Newsom.

As a result, Orange County residents – along with residents of the other 10 Southern California Region counties comprising approximately 23 million of  40 million California residents as designated in the state’s Regional Stay-at-Home Order – will be required to stay at home as much as possible and not mix with other households to reduce exposure, effective 11:59 pm Sunday, December 6 due to our regional ICU capacity reaching 12.5 percent. The current ICU capacity in Orange County is 18.1 percent.

As a result of the state’s Regional Stay-in-Home Order, all Southern California Region counties including Orange County must close the following sectors on 11:59 pm Sunday, December 6:

• Indoor and Outdoor Playgrounds
• Indoor Recreational Facilities
• Hair Salons and Barbershops
• Personal Care Services
• Museums, Zoos, and Aquariums
• Movie Theaters
• Wineries
• Bars, Breweries, and Distilleries
• Family Entertainment Centers
• Cardrooms and Satellite Wagering
• Limited Services
• Live Audience Sports
• Amusement Parks

The following sectors in the Southern California Region will have additional modifications in addition to 100 percent masking and physical distancing:

• Outdoor Recreational Facilities: Allow outdoor operation only without any food, drink or alcohol sales. Additionally, overnight stays at campgrounds will not be permitted.
• Retail: Allow indoor operation at 20 percent capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.
• Shopping Centers: Allow indoor operation at 20 percent capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.
• Hotels and Lodging: Allow to open for critical infrastructure support only.
• Restaurants: Allow only for take-out, pick-up or delivery.
• Offices: Allow remote only except for critical infrastructure sectors where remote working is not possible.
• Places of Worship: Allow outdoor services only.
• Entertainment Production including Professional Sports: Allow operation without live audiences. Additionally, testing protocol and “bubbles” are highly encouraged.

The state Stay-at-Home Order does not modify existing state guidance regarding K-12 schools.

The following sectors are allowed to remain open in the Southern California Region when a remote option is not possible with appropriate infectious disease preventative measures including masking and physical distancing:

• Critical infrastructure
• Non-urgent medical and dental care
• Childcare and pre-K

The Southern California Region will remain in the Regional Stay-at-Home Order status for at least three weeks. The Southern California Region may come out of the Stay-at-Home Order after three weeks, if at that time, hospital ICU capacity projected four weeks out reaches 15 percent. Then individual counties such as Orange County will return to our Blueprint for a Safer Economy tier determined by their case rate and test positivity. If the ICU capacity for the Southern California Region is less than 15 percent after the three-week period, the ICU capacity will be assessed weekly to determine when the order can be lifted.

In addition, the state’s Stay-at-Home will place the following restrictions on counties in the Southern California Region on non-essential travel lodging:

• Except as otherwise required by law, no hotel or lodging entity in California shall accept or honor out of state reservations for non-essential travel, unless the reservation is for at least the minimum time period required for quarantine and the persons identified in the reservation will quarantine in the hotel or lodging entity until after that time period has expired.

During this time, the state Stay-at-Home orderencouragesmembers of the same household are to maintain physical and mental health by safely going to a park, hike, walk or bike ride when safe to do so and socially distanced. Orange County residents are also encouraged to keep connected with loved ones virtually.

For more information, visit the state’s COVID-19 website.

What Orange County Residents and Businesses Can Do

There are several steps Orange County residents can do at this time:

1. Get Tested for COVID-19

The OC Health Care Agency officials are urging residents, especially those with any symptoms, to get tested for the virus.

COVID-19 testing is now widely available across the county for those who are symptomatic or asymptomatic, with or without insurance, at no cost. Testing takes only a few minutes and results generally come back within two to three days.

If you test positive for COVID-19, stay home and let close contacts know. A close contact is someone you were within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes within a 24-hour period during the infectious period.

2. Stay Home if You Don’t Feel Well

Consult with a health care provider. If you do not have a health care provider, please call the OC Health Care Agency’s Health Referral Line at 1(800) 564-8448.

3. Stay Home When Possible

When you leave the house, avoid crowds and stay 6 feet apart from people not in your household.

4. Do Not Gather

Do not mix households at this time.

5. Wear a Face Covering

Wear a face covering you are around people not in your household, especially when indoors.

6. Wash Your Hands Often

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.

7. Avoid Touching Your Eyes, Nose and Mouth with Unwashed Hands

8. Clean and Disinfect Frequently Touched Surfaces

9. Understand and Comply with the State’s Guideline for Your Business and Events

Orange County residents may search for a business or activity type by visiting https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/ and typing in “Orange” in the County field, entering the business or activity type, and clicking, “GET LATEST STATUS.”

For questions related to COVID-19, contact the Orange County COVID-19 Hotline at 1(833) 426-6411, visit http://www.ochealthinfo.com/novelcoronavirus, or follow the HCA on Facebook (@ochealthinfo) and Twitter (@ochealth).