Prognosis
California Warns of Stay-Home Order as Hospital Strain Grows
- Intensive-care demand expected to exceed capacity next month
- ‘Dramatic, arguably drastic’ action may be needed, Newsom says
Los Angeles County has imposed a limited stay-at-home order that starts today.
Photographer: Bing Guan/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
California is considering a return to stay-at-home orders as hospitalizations from the coronavirus soar, with projections showing that intensive-care demand could exceed capacity in the next month, Governor Gavin Newsom said.
Hospitalizations, already nearing a July record, are expected to double or triple by Christmas, Newsom said at a briefing Monday. A recent surge in cases means health-care systems are poised to become even more strained in the weeks ahead, he said. If infections continue rising at their current rate, the most-populous state will run out of intensive care beds by mid-December, well before the holiday.