Newsom says stay-at-home order likely if COVID-19 surge continues
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a Monday press conference the state is considering a new stay-at-home order in purple-tier counties if cases continue to surge.
The state is experiencing the highest rate of increase in COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, and in one to two weeks, new cases resulting from Thanksgiving gatherings are expected to pop up and accelerate the surge.
"If these trends continue, we're going to have to take much more dramatic, arguably drastic action," Newsom said.
With 51 of the state's 58 counties in the most restrictive tier, 99% of the population could fall under a lockdown. The governor didn't outline the details of the potential new order, but when the state issued one in March it required people to stay indoors except for essential services and exercise.
In the Bay Area, all counties are in the purple tier expect Marin, which is still in the red tier.
In the sobering update, Newsom provided a rundown on the latest metrics used to gauge the severity of the pandemic. The seven-day average in new daily cases was 14,657 on Monday, compared to 9,881 at the height of the July summer surge.
The state is implementing a record number of tests — an average of more than 200,000 a day — and as testing increases, he said the positivity rate (the percentage of people who test positive for the virus of all of individuals who are tested) becomes a key metric and shows the increased cases aren't explained by increased testing.
The state's rate was 6.2% on Monday, and was 4.7% as recently as Nov. 16.
Newsom says stay-at-home order likely if COVID-19 surge continues (sfgate.com)
Notice how they hype Thanksgiving to blame when the same media ignored BLM protests with "gatherings" in the hundreds and thousands.