Due to the unprecedented surge in community spread of COVID-19 and the significant increase in hospitalizations and ICU bed usage, Bay Area Health Officers (including Contra Costa) announced today that the State's new Stay Home Order will be implemented this weekend.
Contra Costa's order is effective this Sunday at 10 p.m.
Only 20% of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) hospital beds in Contra Costa County are now available, down from 30% one month ago. 122 individuals are hospitalized for COVID-19 in Contra Costa hospitals, up from 40 one month ago.
These are alarming numbers and do not reflect the increase we expect from Thanksgiving Day gatherings. With more holidays coming up, it is vital we take action now to prevent our hospitals from being overwhelmed.
While 10% to 30% of COVID-19 patients require intensive care, ICU beds are also needed for anyone needing critical care due to a heart attack, stroke, accident or other conditions.
In the State's new Stay Home Order, announced by Governor Newsom yesterday, individuals living in those regions of the State where less than 15% of ICU beds are available should stay home except when engaged in an essential activity. While Bay Area counties haven't quite reached that level yet, Health Officers strongly believe aggressive action is necessary to slow the surge and protect hospital capacity.
Our County Health Services is ensuring that surge plans are in place to convert non-ICU beds to ICU beds if necessary, and to move non COVID-19 patients to temporary hospital facilities, including the alternate care site at the Craneway in Richmond, which isn't occupied yet, but is ready if needed.
Here's a video of Lifelong Medical Center physician Dr. Desmond Carson and I urging all of us to take this seriously and follow the Stay Home Order:
https://www.facebook.com/1387574840/videos/10224239670524592/
Here's a link to what's open and what's not under the new order:
https://cchealth.org/covid19/pdf/Contra-Costa-County-Openings-at-a-Glance.pdf
For more details about both the State and County Stay Home Orders, click here:
https://www.coronavirus.cchealth.org/health-orders
Major changes include:
- Restaurants - only open for take-out (no indoor or outdoor dining)
- Places of Worship - services outdoors only with indoor individual prayer allowed
- Social Gatherings - all gatherings with members of other households are prohibited
Outdoor social gatherings are prohibited because they pose risks of transmission, even with distancing and mask wearing. While the transmission risk is less than indoors, virus transmission happens when people remove their masks to eat or drink.
I support these restrictions because our Health Officers have concluded, based on science and data, that these are the most effective strategies to slow transmission and protect each other. A vaccine is just around the corner and we want to limit unnecessary deaths during this final surge of the virus.
I understand these restrictions are challenging for all of us. Thank you for taking action to protect our hospital capacity and each other!
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