No stay-at-home order restrictions for Solano County yet
(Graphic by Solano News Update)
Solano County will not have to implement new COVID-19 restrictions under a statewide health order this weekend, according to data released by health officials on Saturday.
The stay-at-home order — renewed from an earlier one issued in March — requires counties to implement tougher COVID-19 restrictions based on a region’s availability of hospital intensive care unit beds. Solano County calls under the “Bay Area” region along with 10 other nearby counties.
The restrictions are triggered when the aggregate of hospital ICU beds falls below 15 percent in a region. As of Saturday, only two of the state’s five surveyed regions — San Joaquin Valley and Southern California — met the threshold.
According to state data, the percentage of hospital ICU beds as of Saturday was:
Northern California: 24.1 percent
Bay Area (including Solano County): 21.7 percent
Greater Sacramento (including Yolo County): 21.4 percent
San Joaquin Valley: 8.6 percent
Southern California: 12.5 percent
Earlier in the week, state health officials said they projected four out of five regions to meet the threshold for the new stay-at-home orders, which bans non-essential travel and gatherings, places new restrictions on retailers and restaurants and forces other businesses like nail salons and gyms to close entirely. The Bay Area was projected to meet the threshold for new restrictions by the end of the month.
On Friday, five Bay Area counties and the city of Berkeley said they would voluntarily implement the new restrictions before meeting the state’s requirement that they do so. Health officials there said the move was done out of an abundance of caution in order to maintain an adequate supply of hospital ICU beds.
County officials in Solano took the opposite approach, pledging not to implement the tougher restrictions until they were required to do so. In a statement released online and through various city governments, county officials said the coronavirus pandemic had already affected businesses in the region and additional restrictions were unwarranted because “evidence shows businesses are not where the major spread of COVID-19 takes place,” though no specific evidence was provided to demonstrate this.
“The primary contributor of spread is personal behavior and people gathering with others outside of the household without following safety measures, like masking and physical distancing,” Solano County officials said.
On Saturday, Solano County health officials reported the amount of hospital ICU beds available was 35 percent. Even if the county does not see an increase in serious COVID-19 cases, restrictions could still be implemented if other counties in the Bay Area region experience a surge hospitalizations.
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