CA Regional Stay-Home Order Extended For Napa County, Bay Area

NAPA COUNTY, CA — Because the Bay Area's regional Intensive Care Unit — ICU— capacity remains below 15 percent, the state of California's Regional Stay Home Order that began at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 17 was extended, officials with the county of Napa said over the weekend.

Monday evening, the Bay Area Region's ICU capacity was at 0.7 percent. Officials said the order is assessed weekly and remains in effect until the Bay Area's regional ICU capacity projected out four weeks is equal to or greater than 15 percent.

Public health officials say the state's Regional Stay-Home Order helps limit exposure, interrupt transmission, and prevent overwhelming regional ICU capacity. Private gatherings of any size are banned under the order, and Californians are instructed to continue to stay home as much as possible — only going out for work or for essential needs or services such as food or medical treatment or supplies.

"We are just now beginning to see the effects of December holiday gatherings and travel," said Dr. Karen Relucio, Napa County health officer. "It bears repeating that ICU capacity is not only critical for COVID-19 patients, it can also mean the difference between life and death for community members suffering from non-COVID related medical conditions or trauma."

The order does allow Californians to take part in outdoor activities to preserve their physical and mental health.

Certain business sectors, however, must remain closed except for critical infrastructure and retail, with 100 percent masking and 6 feet of physical distance required in all settings outside of one's home.

Information about sector-specific details is posted on the state's website; scroll down that same webpage to find ICU capacity for the Bay Area and the other four regions, which is updated daily.

Here are Napa County's metrics, according to the state:

• 43.1 new COVID-19 cases daily per 100,000 residents
• 30.8 adjusted case rate for the county's tier status of Widespread
• 7.0 percent positivity rate based on a seven-day average
• 10 percent health equity quartile positivity rate

And here are the statewide metrics:

• 74.1 new COVID-19 cases daily per 100,000 residents
• 15.0 positivity rate based on a seven-day average
• 0.0 percent ICU availability rate

Napa County has had 6,701 total cases of coronavirus since the first two positive test results in March and 36 deaths related to the virus. On Monday, 225 new cases were reported in the county, there were 4,320 active cases and 35 people were hospitalized. More than 2,600 cases were reported in Napa County during the month of December, making it the highest monthly total since the onset of the pandemic.

"Hospitalizations are at an all-time high and we’ve reported more local deaths during the first week of the New Year than we did during our peak month of 2020," Relucio said. "It will take all of us working together to move in the right direction.”