SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that he would consider another stay-at-home order for counties in the purple tier if cases continue to surge.
During his press briefing Monday, the governor said there are currently 51 counties in the purple tier. In the past week, the state averaged 14,657 COVID-19 cases a day. Newsom said that is significantly higher than the last surge in July, which had a seven day average of 9,881 cases.
The state's biggest area of concern is a surge in hospitalizations, particularly in ICU beds. In most regions, ICU beds are about 75% full now but are projected to reach capacity by mid-December to early January.
"This is the tipping point. CA has worked hard to prepare for a surge—but we can’t sustain the record high cases we’re seeing. Current projections show CA will run out of current ICU beds before Christmas Eve," Newsom said.
