WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th January, 2021) California has ended the stay-at-home orders for all three of its COVID-19 hotspot regions after experiencing a decline in intensive care unit (ICU) hospitalizations, the state Department of Public Health said in a notice on Monday.
"Officials with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) today ended the Regional Stay at Home Order, lifting the order for all regions statewide, including the three regions that had still been under the order - San Joaquin Valley, Bay Area and Southern California," the notice said. "Four-week ICU capacity projections for these three regions are above 15 percent, the threshold that allows regions to exit the order."
The region that includes California's capital Sacramento had exited the order on January 12 while North California, which had been under close watch, never entered the order.
The Department of Public Health said the decision is an encouraging sign in California's battle against COVID-19, but warned that the pandemic is far from over.
"It is still critical that Californians continue to wear masks when they leave their homes, maintain physical distance of at least six feet, wash their hands frequently, avoid gatherings and mixing with other households, follow all state and local health department guidance and get the vaccine when it's their turn," the notice said.
California, with an estimated population of 40 million, has reported 3.2 million positive cases and 37,118 coronavorus-related deaths.
