New Delhi (NVI): The US state of California have been placed under a strict new lockdown, as COVID-19 cases continues to surge across the country.
The new restrictions under the lockdown require people to stay-at-home, which will be in place for at least three weeks and cover the Christmas holiday, according to the reports.
This will also affect around 85 per cent of the state’s 40 million people, as many businesses will be closed and people will be banned from meeting anyone outside their household, the BBC reported.
The restrictions in California – the country’s most populous state – were triggered by intensive care capacity in hospitals shrinking.
Governor Gavin Newsom ordered the new restrictions in California, to take effect on a region-by-region basis as hospital intensive care unit beds filled almost to capacity.
He added that when capacity at intensive care units in any of five regions of the state goes below 15 per cent, that region will go into lockdown within 24 hours.
Under the new restrictions, the stay-at-home orders triggered will be similar to the order issued for the state after the pandemic first hit in March.
All retail stores are able to stay open, although only at 20 per cent capacity, along with outside spaces such as parks and beaches while bars, restaurants, hair and nail salons are required to be closed.
Moreover, the country has seen a sharp rise in cases and COVID-related deaths in recent weeks, a surge that could be partly down to last month’s Thanksgiving holiday, when millions of Americans travelled around the United States.
Notably, the new measures apply to the southern part of the state and its central valley, while other areas could follow within days. In addition, San Francisco has also gone into lockdown, with the city’s mayor, London Breed imposing a separate set of orders.
Earlier, California’s lockdown in March, in which all non-essential businesses were closed, was seen as an early model for the US at the beginning of the pandemic.
The situation in California reflects a surge in infections nationwide. The state, which has the largest number of confirmed cases in the US, reported an additional 30,000 infections on Sunday, a new record.
So far, California has recorded more than 1.36 million cases and 19,939 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, the John Hopkins University data shows.
-RJV
