Health officials announced on Friday that millions of people in the San Francisco Bay Area will be subject to a new stay-at-home order starting this weekend as coronavirus cases surge and hospitals fill up.

On Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom released a Regional arrangement at home Linked to hospital ICU capacity. Once the ICU capacity in an area drops below 15%, the stay-at-home application will be triggered, with the vast majority of California expected to meet these standards within the next few days.

The Gulf region was not expected to reach this point until mid-December, however San Francisco Four other provinces in the Bay Area – Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin and Santa Clara – plus the city of Berkeley have decided to proactively adopt the order in an effort to stem the increase.

It is the most serious restriction the country has imposed since spring. They require nearby restaurants to eat indoors and out. Pubs and wineries should also be closed, along with hair and nail salons and playgrounds. Retail stores and malls can operate with a capacity of only 20% of customers. Gatherings of any size with people outside the home are prohibited.

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The changes take effect on Sunday and last until January 4th. Officials said the hospital system in the area would have been exhausted before the end of December, when Newsom’s order was implemented.

We don’t think we can wait for the state’s new restrictions to take effect later this month. This is an emergency, said Chris Farnitano, Contra Costa County Health Officer.

“Given the sharp increase in Covid-19 cases in San Francisco, we must do everything necessary to get the virus under control,” said London Bread, Mayor of San Francisco. This is about protecting people’s lives. We see how fast it moved and how devastating it could be. We need to do everything we can to prevent our hospital system from becoming overwhelmed and to save lives. “

The other four regions of the state – the North California, The largest southern Sacramento region California And San Joaquin Valley – expected to reach a threshold of less than 15% within the next few days.

The new stay-at-home order will drastically cut short the most profitable shopping season and threaten financial havoc for companies already struggling after 10 months of frequent and intermittent restrictions and slow sales due to the pandemic.

The Associated Press contributed to the reports