Most businesses in California will have to close or limit their capacity in the coming days, after Governor Gavin Newsom issued new ordinances on Thursday to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The authorities will activate the new measures as an emergency brake when less than 15% of hospital beds are available in intensive care units.
Newsom said that four of the state's five regions,
excluding the San Francisco Bay area
, will reach that level in a day or two.
[This restaurant in California joined the delivery of meals to those most in need for Thanksgiving]
The new rules establish
the closure of hairdressers, barber shops, bars, breweries, distilleries, casinos and outdoor and indoor playgrounds for children
.
Restaurants will be limited to offering takeout and home delivery, while retail stores will need to limit their capacity to 20% during the holiday shopping season.
The rules must remain in effect for at least three weeks and regions will have 48 hours to implement them.
"The bottom line is that if we don't act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed
," Newsom said.
[California decrees new restrictions and opens more testing centers due to the advance of COVID-19]
California reported more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the most in one day.
A record 8,500 people are in hospitals, including more than 2,000 in intensive care units,
leaving the state with fewer than 2,000 of those beds available
.
Newsom, who is currently in quarantine after his three children were exposed to the virus, had already imposed restrictions, including a nightly curfew, in 51 of the state's 58 counties, an area that includes virtually the entire population.
Overall, California has reported
more than 1.2 million COVID-19 cases and more than 19,300 deaths
.
The state reported 20,759 new cases Wednesday, surpassing the previous high of 18,350 set last week.
[Obama, Bush and Clinton volunteer to get vaccinated against the coronavirus and prove it is safe]
Public health officials have said that the current numbers do not include COVID-19 infections that are likely to arise from Thanksgiving trips and gatherings, when many people ignored social distancing precautions.
Those cases will likely start showing up in hospitals around Christmas, said Brad Pollock, associate dean of public health at the University of California Davis School of Medicine.
With information from The Associated Press
.
