The home stay order was imposed on any region of California, where the capacity available in intensive care units has dropped below 15%. The initial order was set to last three weeks, expiring on December 28.
But intensive care capacity in Southern California rises to 0% as hospitals strain under a steady increase in new patients.
To exit the home stay order, a region must return to at least 15% ICU capacity. After reaching that mark, projections must predict that the region will remain at that level for at least another four weeks before the order can be lifted.
“The regional home stay order is likely to expand to many parts of California,” state health officials said in a statement Saturday. “Regions must remain under the command of regional residence at home for at least three weeks and will continue until the projections of ICU capacity for four weeks on the assessed day are greater than or equal to 15%.”
There are 6,770 patients with COVID-19 in hospitals in Los Angeles County, with 20% of them in intensive care.
The San Joaquin Valley also has a capacity of 0% ICU, while the bay area is 11.3%; Greater Sacramento is at 16.9%, and the rest of Northern California is at 33.9%.
Los Angeles County reported 13,185 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, in addition to 15,538 cases on Friday. The county has reported over 706,000 cases since the beginning of the pandemic and 9,438 deaths.
One person is now dying from COVID-19 about every 10 minutes in Los Angeles County, according to local officials.
Hospitals are struggling to make room for the influx of patients, but say one of the most difficult challenges is not space, but simply having enough staff to provide adequate care.
“He’s very busy,” said Dr. Umber Chohan, an infectious disease specialist at Kaiser Permanente. “Emergency rooms, hospitals, intensive care units. It’s very busy. The numbers are growing. They’re bigger than anything we’ve seen in the past. They’re double and triple what we saw last time.”
The United States passes 18 million cases
Another concern is a new strain of virus that has been observed in the United Kingdom. It is described as being 70% more transmissible than previous strains. Los Angeles officials say that since the city remains a hub for international travel, it will not be surprising to find this new strain here.
The nation has now registered more than 18 million confirmed cases and nearly 120,000 hospitalizations.
California has more than 2 million cases, with 23,983 deaths.
Despite the concerns, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
About 2 million Americans now receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
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