UPDATED: ICU capacity falls below 15%: Placer, Sacramento, El Dorado counties will be placed on a 3-week stay-at-home order

ICU bed availability within the Greater Sacramento region fell to 14.3 percent Wednesday, below 15 percent requirement. As a result, the Greater Sacramento Region, including Placer, Sacramento and El Dorado counties, was placed on a stay-at-home order of at least three weeks effective at 11:59 p.m. Thursday. According to the state's daily COVID-19 news release, business sectors must close by 11:59 p.m. the day following the region's ICU bed availability dropping below 15 percent. As of Friday afternoon, the region's ICU bed availability was 14.8 percent. Sectors that are required to close during the order include: Indoor recreational facilities Hair salons and barbershops Personal care services Museums, zoos and aquariums Movie theaters Wineries, bars, breweries and distilleries, except for production, manufacturing and retail Family entertainment centers Cardrooms Live audience sports Amusement parks The following sectors will remain open with modifications in addition to 100-percent masking and physical distancing protocols: Schools can continue to provide in-person instruction on school sites, and may be required to close if certain percentages of students and staff are diagnosed with COVID-19. Playgrounds may remain open to facilitate physically distanced personal health and wellness through outdoor exercise. Playgrounds located on school campuses that remain open for in-person instruction, and not accessible by the general public, may remain open. Stand-alone grocery stores may operate at a maximum capacity of 35 percent with access to the store strictly metered to ensure compliance. Non-urgent medical and dental care can remain open with appropriate preventive measures. Outdoor recreation facilities will be allowed to operate without food, drink or alcohol sales. Overnight stays at campgrounds will not be permitted. Retail will be limited to 20-percent capacity with entrance metering and special hours for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems. Eating and drinking is not permitted inside stores. Shopping centers will be allowed to operate indoors at 20-percent capacity with entrance metering and special hours for seniors and others with chronic conditions or compromised immune systems. Eating and drinking is not permitted inside stores. Hotels and lodging will be open for critical infrastructure support only. Restaurants will be limited to take-out, pick-up or delivery only. Places of worship and political expression will be limited to outdoor services only. Offices will be allowed to operate remotely only except for critical infrastructure sectors where remote work is not possible. Entertainment production, including professional sports, are allowed to operate without live audiences. Testing protocol and "bubbles" are highly encouraged. Outdoor gyms meet the essential workforce definition. Indoor operations must close. In a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon, Placer County Board Chair Bonnie Gore said the order has been announced despite the spread of the virus in Placer County being due to small gatherings and family spread, not businesses and restaurants. "How many people will go home tonight with a layoff notice?" Gore wrote. "With a job on Friday? (Gov. Gavin Newsom) is telling small salon owners, hairstylists, restaurant workers, that their jobs aren't essential. That they should stop making a livelihood, providing for their families, to protect people who can choose to stay at home." Gore went on to say gathering with individuals outside your home will increase chances of transmission, however, it is everyone's choice and she "will not be banging your door down when you arrive home with a Christmas dinner for 12." Gore also confirmed she will continue to encourage Placer residents to shop local and support businesses during this time. According to the Placer County COVID-19 dashboard as of Friday afternoon, ICU bed availability within the county was 24.3 percent, including 18 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in ICU. According to the county's monthly update, Placer County had 122 licensed ICU beds and 83 readily staffed/equipped beds as of Dec. 2. The Sacramento County COVID-19 dashboard reported 439 ICU beds in use as of Thursday. The dashboard notes the county had 542 on-site ICU beds and 425 surge capacity beds. There are four surge capacity beds in use. Greater Sacramento is the third region to meet the criteria for the regional stay-at-home order. The order will be lifted when at least three weeks has passed and the region's projected ICU capacity meets or exceeds the 15-percent requirement. According to the state news release, the region will be eligible to exit the order on Jan. 1, 2021.