Stay-at-Home orders for El Dorado, Alpine counties and rest in Sacramento Region

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - South Lake Tahoe and the rest of El Dorado County and Alpine County will go under a Stay-at-Home order effective Thursday, December 10 at 11:59 p.m. This order will last for at least three weeks and then the state will reevaluate. The order has gone into effect because the Sacramento Region, of which South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado and Alpine counties are part, now has staffed ICU bed availability under 15 percent.

If, after three weeks, the region is still under 15 percent availability, the order will remain in place. As of Wednesday, December 9, the region's ICU availability was 14.3 percent according to the California Department of Health and Human Services.

It catches the tourism economy of South Lake Tahoe at a time where holiday bookings and business grows, providing much needed revenue for owners, income for employees. The order goes until New Year's Eve.

"We should all take a deep breath and hope our numbers start going down and hope for everyone's health," said South Lake Tahoe Mayor Tamara Wallace. "I hope our economy recovers as its tied to health and wellness, and mental health. Be kind and generous to everyone. Everyone is struggling in some way. I think if we were to just give each other the benefit of doubt, and grace, this will go a long way to making this an easier situation for everyone in general. None of us knows what everyone else is going through."

The new restrictions require all restaurants to close outdoor dining, and barbers, hair salons and nail salons will need to close. Retail outlets will be required to limit customers to 20 percent capacity at a time. Stand-alone grocery can be t 35 percent occupancy.

“Today’s news from the State is something we anticipated and are prepared to address. Whatever one’s personal opinion may be about the State’s authority to apply industry and personal restrictions, it’s indisputable that we are in a new wave of serious cases of COVID-19 and it is having an impact on our health care delivery systems," said El Dorado County Communications Director Carla Hass. "“No matter what you choose to do in response to this Order, we urge you to do so as safely as possible so our communities can remain as healthy as possible. Personal responsibility is more important than ever, and it will be up to each of us individually to make the choices that will help us collectively come through this wave."

Residents will be asked to remain at home except to go to essential jobs or to do basic chores.

Since December 1 there have been 775 cases of COVID-19 in the county, 164 of those in the South Lake Tahoe region.

“Over the last several weeks in our County there has been a rise in positive COVID-19 cases, hospital and ICU cases admissions and the need to activate the hospitals surge plans to accommodate these patients," said Hass. "The hospitals have begun using overflow areas and utilizing additional respiratory, ICU and emergency room staff, including those from the National Guard, to meet the needs of our communities. We are grateful for their unwavering support to our residents who need care."

In the Sacramento Region are Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Sierra, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba counties. The Stay-At-Home order started earlier this week in the Southern California Region and San Joaquin Valley Region. Southern California ICU rate is now 9.0 percent, San Joaquin 4.2 percent. The Bay Area is not below the 15 percent ICU availability rate yet but most counties in that area chose to follow the same Stay-At-Home orders in order to curb the hospitalizations.

Over 30 million people are now under a regional Stay-at-Home order.

There are meetings taking place Thursday for some local businesses that are contemplating defying the order.

"Whatever choice they make will be difficult but they will have to accept the consequences either way," said Wallace.

Closed
Hair salons and barbershops
Personal care services
Museums, zoos, and aquariums
Movie theaters (except drive-in)
Wineries, bars, breweries, and distilleries
Family entertainment centers
Cardrooms and satellite wagering
Limited services
Live audience sports
Amusement parks
Indoor operations at gyms

Lodging
Hotels and lodging, including vacation home rentals, can only offer accommodation for COVID-19 mitigation and containment measures, treatment measures, accommodation for essential workers, or providing housing solutions, including measures to protect homeless populations.

Additionally, the Travel Advisory remains in effect.

For a full list of what is closed, and answers to common questions, visit the State's website - https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-needs/#regional-stay-home-order.