Governor Inches Ever Closer To Stay At Home Order For Orange County Home To Disneyland
With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise in California, Governor Gavin Newsom is putting a new system in place to enforce stay at home orders should hospitals reach a certain % of in-patient capacity. This measures could potentially impact Orange County where Disneyland and Disney California Adventure are located.
Under the measures which were announced this afternoon non-essential businesses like beauty salons and barber shops will be ordered to close. Outdoor restaurant dining will shut down too which will have an impact on Downtown Disney and Buena Vista Street which have shifted many of their Table Service eateries to al fresco dining.
Even retailers will be impacted as they will need to limit the amount of people inside to 20% of building capacity.
Likely to hit many businesses hard, Newsom also introduced some business relief measures which includes a 3 month sales tax deferral for small businesses and a $1,000 tax credit per worker for employers with a $100,000 tax credit cap. In addition and according to a piece in Voice of the O.C, the state has half a billion dollars in bailout money for small businesses to stay afloat. Businesses can apply to receive $25,000 grants!
Photo: Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
There’s always the possibility that the order may not come to pass if COVID-19 cases show a downward trend. However, looking at the data just now that seems unlikely.
So when does the regional order go into effect in Southern California? When intensive care unit capacity drops below 15% in the region. The state expects this to happen in a matter of days.
Photo: ABC
This means that announcements regarding Downtown Disney adjustments or closures could be imminent. Newsom said in his press conference today, “The bottom line is if we don’t act now, our hospitalization system will be overwhelmed,” Newsom said at a Thursday news conference. “We’ll continue to see our death rate climb, more lives lost.”
Newsom’s order comes as Orange County hospitalizations have been increasing dramatically due to an increase in cases. As of going to print, 735 people are hospitalized in Orange County include 172 patients in intensive care. There was a 230% increase in hospitalizations last month.
Governor Newsom said that it is likely that we will see a continued increase in cases, what he called “a surge on top of a surge” after Thanksgiving.
California secretary of state Health and Human Services Dr. Mark Ghaly said that medical staff are already fatigued heading into the hospitalization spike. “We know that staff are one of our most precious resources at this time and they’ve been on that frontline for many, many months.”
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Source: Voice of Orange County
