Regional Stay Home Order Triggered in San Joaquin Valley, Effective December 6 at 11:59 p.m.

ICU Capacity Dropped Below 15% Triggering Stay Home Order for Tulare County  

Tulare County and the San Joaquin Valley will be under the Regional Stay Home Order as Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Capacity in the region dropped below 15% availability triggering the order effective in Tulare County beginning Sunday, December 6 at 11:59 p.m. The new regional order is a proactive measure in response to the rapid rise of COVID-19 case rates and hospitalizations, threatening to overwhelm the health care delivery system.

The Regional Stay Home Order requires Tulare County residents to stay at home as much as possible, prohibits private gatherings of any size, closes operations for certain sectors and requires 100 percent masking and physical distancing in all other sectors allowed to operate under the new regional order. Schools currently open under approved waivers can remain open and retailers can operate at no more than 20% capacity to reduce exposure risk to COVID-19 as the virus continues to rapidly spread throughout Tulare County and the greater San Joaquin Valley region.

“COVID-19 continues to spread at alarming rates in Tulare County, and most concerning are the number of people needing to be hospitalized for COVID-19,” shared Dr. Karen Haught, Tulare County Public Health Officer. “It is imperative we take these protective actions in order to not overwhelm our local hospitals. The measures we all need to take is to avoid any gatherings outside our household, wear a face covering, social distance, and wash our hands. These are vital to decrease transmission of COVID-19.”

The San Joaquin Valley region will remain within the Regional Stay at Home Order status for at least three weeks. Tulare County will be eligible to come off the Regional Stay at Home Order after three weeks if local hospital ICU capacity projected four weeks out reaches 15 percent, once this is achieved, then Tulare County will return to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy tier determined by case rate and test positivity metrics after eligibility to exit the Regional Stay at Home Order is met. The terms of the Regional Stay at Home Order closely mirror the March statewide Stay at Home Order, with some variations.

What does the Regional Stay at Home Order do? 

The Regional Stay at Home Order instructs Californians to stay at home as much as possible to limit the mixing with other households that can lead to COVID-19 spread. It allows access to (including travel for) critical services and allows outdoor activities to preserve physical and mental health. This limited closure will help stop the surge and prevent overwhelming regional ICU capacity.

All operations in the following sectors must be closed:

  • Indoor and Outdoor Playgrounds
  • Indoor Recreational Facilities
  • Hair Salons and Barbershops
  • Personal Care Services
  • Museums, Zoos, and Aquariums
  • Movie Theaters
  • Wineries
  • Bars, Breweries and Distilleries
  • Family Entertainment Centers
  • Cardrooms and Satellite Wagering
  • Limited Services
  • Live Audience Sports
  • Amusement Park

The following sectors will have additional modifications in addition to 100 percent masking and physical distancing:

  • Outdoor Recreational Facilities: Allow outdoor operation only without any food, drink or alcohol sales. Additionally, overnight stays at campgrounds will not be permitted.  
  • Retail: Allow indoor operation at 20 percent capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.
  • Shopping Centers: Allow indoor operation at 20 percent capacity with entrance metering and no eating or drinking in the stores. Additionally, special hours should be instituted for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems.
  • Hotels and Lodging: Allow to open for critical infrastructure support only.
  • Restaurants: Allow only for take-out or pick-up.
  • Offices: Allow remote only except for critical infrastructure sectors where remote working is not possible.
  • Places of Worship: Allow outdoor services only.
  • Entertainment Production including Professional Sports: Allow operation without live audiences. Additionally, testing protocol and “bubbles” are highly encouraged.

The Order does not modify existing state guidance regarding K-12 schools and Tulare County schools currently open under approved waivers can remain open The following sectors are allowed to remain open when a remote option is not possible with appropriate infectious disease preventative measures including 100 percent masking and physical distancing:

  • Critical Infrastructure
  • Non-urgent medical and dental care
  • Child care and pre-K

More information on the Regional Stay at Home Order and other statewide COVID-19 restrictions is available at www.COVID-19.ca.gov.

Other Statewide Restrictions – Non-Essential Travel Lodging

Except as otherwise required by law, no hotel or lodging entity in California shall accept or honor out of state reservations for non-essential travel, unless the reservation is for at least the minimum time period required for quarantine and the persons identified in the reservation will quarantine in the hotel or lodging entity until after that time period has expired.

Can people go outside?

Members of the same household are encouraged to maintain physical and mental health by safely going to a park, hike, walk or bike ride when safe to do so and socially distanced. Californians are also encouraged to keep connected with loved ones virtually.

For more information about COVID-19, visit www.tchhsa.org/ncov and www.covid19.tularecounty.ca.gov

7 thoughts on “Regional Stay Home Order Triggered in San Joaquin Valley, Effective December 6 at 11:59 p.m.

(Commenter ID is a unique per-article, per-person commenter identifier. If multiple names have the same Commenter ID, it is likely they are the same person. For more information, click here.)

  1. Where is the science in closing outdoor dining , barber shops, gyms and playground equipment? And banning family members from getting together and going to church? This governor is a dictator!

    • If people would simply use their common sense and accept that this country is in the midst of a extremely dangerous viral pandemic and follow simple CDC guidelines (wear a mask, practice social distancing, wash hands frequently) the numbers would decrease enough to free up ICU beds in hospitals (that is why this current stay at home order was implemented …. too many are being hospitalized) and keep our State out of the purple tier so more businesses can begin to reopen. Common sense needs to be employed …. not political partisanship.

      • Common sense need to be employed, not Political Partisanship? Look at the EDD, the DMV, the Zero Bail system, the PPP Loan Program. Do you know what Plumjack is? Plumpjack is a winery in Napa Valley…. who is currently open for you and up to 98 of your closest friends, OWNED by Gavin, while non-gavin newsom business all over california are forced to be closed, including mine. Gavin collected 3 million in PPP covid funds. So your Governor and his policies can pound sand.

        Must be grand to be the governor, and have mindwarped people like you that write partisan comments constantly, question the integrity and moral compass of Republicans, and Trump, but then demand non partisanship when they are your own doing the wrong. Where is your courage to call out the clown for what he is?

        • I’m more concerned with people who DO NOT follow CDC Guidelines. I don’t need to call out the Governor because what he does is out there for all to see and each person can come to their own conclusions about him. You can hate on him all you want…. that doesn’t change the fact that COVID-19 is real and that should be top of the list of your concerns. Go ahead and dog on the Governor, Democrats, and anyone who doesn’t agree with your politics but while doing so please encourage everyone to follow CDC Guideline so we can get these numbers down, get out of the purple tier, and open up our businesses. The health and welfare of people both physically and financially are at stake and should be your main focus. For the record I do not disagree with your take on Gov. Newsom business practices in regards to PPP and on other decisions he has made as well. I choose to not undermine what he is trying to accomplish in keeping California as safe as possible when it comes to COVID-19. Is he right 100% in everything…. not at all but at least he is not sticking his head in the sand pretending that it is nothing more than the flu. Over 3000 souls have been lost in just one single day and more are dying every day as we speak. Many have lasting health issues after contracting COVID. Luckily there are many who have very little to no side effects from it. We and all our loved ones need to live so we can fight another day…..why not focus on trying to accomplish that. Gov. Newsom will pay a political price one way or the other. At this moment my focus is on working to end this damn pandemic.

          • Death rates per 1000 people – Sure does make me question all the hysteria. Mind boggling how the damn curve stays statically flat. The 3 week shutdown has turned into a 10 months fiasco. Agree to disagree all you want..statistics do not lie only the media and politicians do. Look these numbers up yourself.
            2020 8.880 1.120% (projected
            2019 8.782 1.120%
            2018 8.685 1.220%
            2017 8.580 1.240%
            2016 8.475 1.270%
            2015 8.369 1.270%
            2014 8.264 1.290%
            2013 8.159 0.090%
            2012 8.152 0.090%
            2011 8.145 0.090%
            2010 8.138 0.090%
            2009 8.131 0.090%
            2008 8.124 -0.960%
            2007 8.203 -0.950%
            2006 8.282 -0.960%
            2005 8.362 -0.940%
            2004 8.441 -0.930%
            2003 8.520 -0.330%
            2002 8.548 -0.330%
            2001 8.576 -0.310%
            2000 8.603 -0.320%
            1999 8.631 -0.320%
            1998 8.659 -0.370%
            1997 8.691 -0.360%
            1996 8.722 -0.370%
            1995 8.754 -0.350%
            1994 8.785 -0.360%
            1993 8.817 -0.310%
            1992 8.844 -0.300%
            1991 8.871 -0.300%

          • Recall Gavin you missed the point I was making but then I guess that is to be expected as I am focused on people not contracting COVID-19 and obviously you are not. Stay safe and healthy while you pursue the Governor since that is of more importance to you.

  2. So what we have is one man who is allowed to destroy our local economy with the stroke of a pen! Hitler would be proud!

Use your voice

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *