SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — With the rapid rise in COVID-19 cases across California, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Public Health today announced a limited Stay at Home Order.
It requires that non-essential work, movement and gatherings stop between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. in counties in the purple tier. San Diego County is one of them.
The order will take effect at 10 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21 and remain in effect until 5 a.m. Dec. 21.
A similar order was issued in March, but this one will only apply at night.
“The virus is spreading at a pace we haven’t seen since the start of this pandemic and the next several days and weeks will be critical to stop the surge. We are sounding the alarm,” Newsom said. “It is crucial that we act to decrease transmission and slow hospitalizations before the death count surges. We’ve done it before and we must do it again.”
Activities conducted between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. are often non-essential and more likely related to social activities and gatherings that have a higher likelihood of leading to infections, Newsom says.
Measures such as wearing face covering and maintaining physical distance are still encouraged.
“We know from our stay at home order this spring, which flattened the curve in California, that reducing the movement and mixing of individuals dramatically decreases COVID-19 spread, hospitalizations, and deaths,” said California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. “We may need to take more stringent actions if we are unable to flatten the curve quickly. Taking these hard, temporary actions now could help prevent future shutdowns.”
