After a slight decrease in coronavirus cases, California on Monday lifted its strict stay-at-home order, issued in early December and affecting more than 33 million people in the south of the state and a wide swath of the Central Valley .
According to the California Department of Health, a projection for the next four weeks shows that there will be
enough intensive therapy beds
available, allowing the state to lift its restrictions.
However, California has an average of 30,382 daily cases of coronavirus, three times more than those registered in November, according to official data from the state.
[Follow our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic]
Starting this Monday, restaurants will be able to reopen
in open spaces
, as well as cinemas, religious temples and outdoor entertainment venues.
The curfew from 10:00 at night to 5:00 in the morning has also been lifted.
"California is slowly beginning to emerge from the most dangerous wave of this pandemic yet, which is the light at the end of the tunnel that we have been waiting for," said Mark Ghaly, State Secretary of Health.
“Seven weeks ago, our front-line hospitals and medical workers were stretched to the limit, but Californians heard the urgent message to stay home when possible, and the surge after the December break did not overwhelm the health care system in the level we feared, "he added.
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The state will thus return to the use of the
traffic light
, whose four colors are related to the number of cases of contagion, and determine the activities and businesses that can continue to operate.
Most counties are in purple or
"extended"
, the highest level, which forces many non-essential businesses that cannot offer their services outdoors, according to the California traffic light.
With the traffic light in purple, schools must continue to offer distance classes, and businesses such as hairdressers can reopen with certain modifications, according to CNN.
"COVID-19 is still here, just as deadly, so our work is not over yet, but it is important to recognize that the collective effort saved lives and allows us to take a critical turn," said doctor Tomas Aragon, director of public health Of California.
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There are still questions about whether the lifting of the restrictions will apply to
Los Angeles County
, which has been hit especially hard by the pandemic.
Nearly 7,000 people have died there since December 1, and more than a million have been infected with the coronavirus.
Despite the seriousness of the pandemic, restaurants sued Los Angeles County for banning outdoor food service, a solution to overcome the economic crisis facing the restaurant sector, according to the Los Angeles Times.
California is also grappling with concerns about the variant of the coronavirus first detected in the UK, and which has already been identified in the state.
This variant could be more transmissible, according to experts, which could result in an increase in cases of contagion.
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Voices unite in favor of removing the governor
Activist groups have joined forces to demand the retirement of the governor, Gavin Newsom, whom they criticize for his response to the pandemic.
So far, activists have raised $ 1.7 million and, according to The Wall Street Journal, have collected
1.2 million signatures
of the 1.5 million needed to bring the governor's retirement to a referendum.
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In 2003,
Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger
replaced Democrat Gray Davis, the first and so far only case in which a governor has been removed in California.
Among other criticisms, activists criticize Newsom for banning restaurants from operating outdoors, and alleged fraudulent payments at the unemployment agency, which are being investigated by authorities.
"Californians are suffering and we have had a dramatic lack of leadership from the governor," said former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, a Republican who told The Wall Street Journal that he would run in the election to replace Newsom.
"The actions of the governor are damaging lives and livelihoods, people are on the edge of their patience and they want to do something about it," he added.
With information from the
LA Times
,
CNN
, The Wall Street Journal.
