The regional stay-at-home order for the vast region of the U.S. California state has been extended amid a COVID-19 surge, authorities announced Tuesday.

California Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Ghaly said in a news conference that the stay-at-home order for the 11-county Southern California region and the San Joaquin Valley region, which includes 12 counties in Central California, has been extended.

The three-week order was previously set to expire on Monday.

The remaining intensive care unit (ICU) capacity in the two regions are still zero as of Tuesday.

At the start of this month, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans for the regional stay-at-home order to contain the pandemic based on hospital capacity, which is designed to be triggered when fewer than 15 percent of beds are available in ICU for a region.

Southern California and San Joaquin Valley regions, home to 33 million people, have been the first part of the most populous U.S. state with a population of around 40 million to enter the stay-at-home order since Dec. 6 after the ICU capacity in the two regions dropped below 15 percent.

Source:
courtesy of XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

by XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

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