As Solano COVID hospitalizations spike, Newsom warns of more restrictions
California's governor says the state may be forced to roll out tougher restrictions if the number of coronavirus-related infections doesn't ease soon.
(Photo by Gage Skidmore)
California Governor Gavin Newsom warned on Monday of tougher state-wide restrictions as the number of coronavirus-related infections and hospitalizations continued to rise at breakneck speed.
At a virtual press conference, Newsom said health officials projected hospitals in California would run out of intensive care unit (ICU) space by Christmas Day if the number of COVID-19 infections did not ease soon.
"The high case numbers that we’ve seen in the last week and 10 days have not even begun to impact hospitals yet," Newsom said, attributing the rise in cases to holiday gatherings around Thanksgiving Day.
If that trend continues, Newsom said state officials would have to “take much more dramatic — arguably drastic — actions, including taking a look at those purple-tiered counties,” a reference to the state’s 51 counties with the highest level of personal and business restrictions.
After a rise in infections and hospitalizations, Solano County was relegated back to the purple restriction tier earlier this month. Data released by the Solano County Public Health Department showed 23 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 infections at the start of the month. That number has nearly tripled to 63 hospitalizations as of November 25, surpassing the county’s peak of 53 hospitalizations in mid-July.
Less than one-third of the county’s ICU hospital beds are available for additional cases, county officials reported.
Of the total number of cases reported since the start of the pandemic, the rate of infection is worse in Fairfield and Vallejo, which each city logging more than 3,000 cases. Vacaville has confirmed more than 2,000 cases since county health officials began collecting data in mid-February.
The number of COVID-19 cases is likely higher because the county data only aggregates confirmed cases when those with symptoms get tested for the coronavirus.
The increase in cases prompted state officials earlier this month to issue a stay-at-home order that prohibited non-essential social gatherings and travel between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. through the middle of December. The order did not prevent people from gathering with friends and family on Thanksgiving, though officials strongly discouraged it.
The stay-at-home order has virtually no effect in Solano County because the county’s sheriff’s office and most local police departments have refused to commit personnel to enforce it. Others, including the Fairfield Police Department, said officers would only be dispatched to egregious curfew violations.
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