PRESS RELEASE FROM INYO COUNTY

INYO COUNTY, CA, December 8, 2020 – On December 5, The California Department of Public Health issued a Regional Stay at Home Order for the southern region, which includes Inyo County. This was prompted by our region’s available intensive care unit (ICU) bed capacity dropping to 13.1% on December 4, and further dropping to 12.5% on December 5. This limited closure is intended to help stop the surge on our hospitals and prevent overwhelming our regional ICU capacity, which Inyo County relies heavily on to meet the needs of critical care patients.  The following guidelines are meant to provide clarification for our Inyo County residents:

Regional implementation of the order was required by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, December 6, 2020

• The ICU capacity can be monitored at https://covid19.ca.gov/stay-home-except-for-essential-needs/#regional-stay-home-order
• The purpose of the order is to reduce risk of further impacting ICU capacity in the region
• Having access to ICU beds in our region and statewide is critical for Inyo County as we routinely transfer critical care patients to other hospitals to meet their needs
• Currently we have local ICU beds but a critical care need such as traumatic brain injury, stroke, heart attack or other care issue that we typically transfer to regional hospitals that are better equipped to provide specialty care may have to be treated locally or have delayed transfer due to the lack of an available ICU bed
• Hospitals in neighboring states that we use for specialty care are also impacted.  Renown Hospital in Reno reported treating approximately 34 people in an enclosed garage that they are using as an alternative care site
• ICU capacity is also driven by staff availability, as are ancillary services such as laboratory capacity, respiratory care capacity and other service capacity.  Limited health care staff resources statewide also impact our ability to access those services through mutual aid
• Locally, we have seen increased community spread countywide which has the potential to impact our own local ICU capacity.  As of 12/4 we reported 328 cases and have been averaging 7 new cases a day since beginning of December with a slightly higher number the last few days bringing us to 350 cases as of December 7, 2020
• All critical infrastructure sectors remain open with modifications
• The following is a summary of closures and modifications for sectors that are required to be in place as of 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, December 6, 2020:

• Closures:
  • Indoor/outdoor playgrounds and indoor recreational facilities
  • Hair Salons/Barbershops
  • Personal Care Services
  • Limited Services
  • Family entertainment centers, as well as amusement parks and movie theaters
  • Museums, zoos, and aquariums
  • Live audience sports
  • Cardrooms and satellite wagering
  • Bars, breweries, distilleries, and wineries
  • All other indoor, non-critical infrastructure industries not specifically listed above
• Modifications:
  • Grocery stores – indoor capacity reduced to 35% (based upon fire department occupancy limits) and access to stores must be metered to ensure compliance with capacity limit (added to a modification of the order on December 6, 2020)
  • Outdoor recreational facilities (no food, drink or alcohol sales) – Overnight stays at campgrounds not permitted with some exceptions (e.g. housing of critical infrastructure workers, housing for fire evacuees, etc.)
  • Retail and shopping centers – Indoor capacity reduced to 20% with entrance metering
  • Hotels/Lodging – open for critical infrastructure support only
  • Restaurants – open for take-out or delivery only
  • Office – Remote only except for critical infrastructure sectors where remote working is not possible
  • Places of worship and political expression – Outdoor only
  • Entertainment production, including professional sports – operate with no live audience and include testing protocol

• Travel restrictions for any non-essential purpose are in place once any region is issued the Stay At Home Order. This means that individuals are advised to stay home as much as possible and within their own county.
• Gatherings with people outside your household are not allowed.  To promote your own health, you are encouraged to engage in outdoor physical activities by yourself or only with members of your household.
• The Stay At Home order will remain in effect for at least 3 weeks at which time the state will assess the projected ICU capacity availability for week 4 and if the capacity is above 15% the regional order will be lifted and we will return to the tier system outlined in the Blueprint for a Safer Economy: https://covid19.ca.gov/safer-economy/
• Every citizen can do their part to stop the spread of COVID-19:
  • Wear a face covering when engaging with anyone not in living in your home
  • Wash your hands frequently and for at least 20 seconds – use hand sanitizer when soap and water is not available
  • Maintain physical distance of 6 feet or more from people who do not live in your home whenever possible

For additional information visit the Reopening Inyo Businesses webpage, email [email protected], or call 760-878-8457.