COVID Cases on the Rise

By Camila Acosta, Sports Editor

PAUL BERSEBACH/Orange County Register

On Wednesday, Dec. 3, the regional stay at home order was announced by public health officials stating that if a region goes under 15 percent ICU availability, the order will go into effect the next day. The stay at home order will remain in effect for a full three weeks, or until the region's ICU capacity meets or surpasses 15 percent. The regions include Northern California, Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California.

The order gives instructions to stay home as much as possible, adding additional modifications to outdoor recreational facilities, retail allowing 20% indoor capacity, 35% for grocery stores, shopping centers reduced to 20% capacity, hotels and lodging, restaurants, offices, places of worship and political expression, along with entertainment production. Closing nonessential business including hair salons, personal care services, museums, zoos, aquariums, movie theaters, wineries, bars, family entertainment centers, live audience sports, and amusement parks.

"We’re experiencing an explosive and very deadly surge," Los Angeles County Public Health director Barbara Ferrer said.

California is currently experiencing its highest level of cases leading the ICU capacity to reach a new low. Governor Gavin Newsom hopes the new safety measures will help ease the rising cases.

Within the state and across the nation the method to combat COVID-19 is not something everyone is in agreement on. Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes has stated that deputies within Orange County will not be enforcing stay at home orders.

"To put the onus on law enforcement to enforce these orders against law-abiding citizens who are already struggling through difficult circumstances, while at the same time criticizing law enforcement and taking away tools to do our jobs, is both contradictory and disingenuous," Barnes said.

Meanwhile Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco has accused Newson of being “extremely hypocritical” and maintaining a doctoral attitude.

"They bent over backwards to modify their entire operation to conform to these current health orders, and then they have the rug yanked out from under them," Los Angeles county Sheriff Alex Villanueva said. "That’s a disservice. I don’t want to make their lives any more miserable."

With COVID cases on the rise and the possibility of this order not being enforced there’s no telling how the next few months will go, but public health officials are hopeful and awaiting the newly approved vaccine.