Health officials speak on what lifting stay-at-home orders means for hospitals

Stay-at-home orders began in December for several counties in Southern California when coronavirus cases worsened. Most businesses had to shut down with people urged to stay home until the ICU capacity dropped below 15%. 

California lifted regional stay-at-home orders across the state Monday in response to improving coronavirus conditions, returning the state to a system of county-by-county restrictions, state health officials announced. The order had been in place in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, covering the majority of the state’s counties.

More details on the stay-at-home order: Newsom lifts stay-at-home orders, Riverside County to return to ‘purple’ tier

“We project forward over a 4 week period and we determined ICU capacity either meets or exceeds 15%,” said California governor Gavin Newsom. Hospitalizations in Riverside County are down to the lowers they've been since late December.

“The numbers are down but we still have such limited capacity at our ICU’s and hospitals that we still are in a situation that potentially could be dangerous,” said Riverside County Department of Health official Jose Arballo.

Though businesses have the go to operate again under purple tier restrictions, there is a flip side. “The concern is that you might have some people believe that the worst part has gone by,” said Arballo.

Officials remind people that though the curve is flattening, we are not out of the woods, especially for hospital staff. “Getting the number of people they need there, the doctors, the nurses, the support staff. That will continue to be an issue for now,” said Arballo.