Date: December 31, 2020
Number: NR20-354
Contact: CDPHpress@cdph.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO – Today the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced the most recent statistics on COVID-19, including data on intensive care unit (ICU) capacity across the state.

Based on ICU data, four regions, San Joaquin Valley, Southern California, Greater Sacramento and the Bay Area continue under the Regional Stay at Home Order. Once a region's four-week ICU projection shows a capacity of greater than or equal to 15%, the order will be lifted for that area. ICU projections are calculated daily for regions that are eligible to exit the order.

While the Greater Sacramento region's daily current ICU capacity numbers have been relatively consistent at approximately 14%, early projections over the next four weeks show ICU capacity is likely to drop. Therefore, the order will likely be extended for that region. Official ICU projections for the Greater Sacramento region will be posted on January 2 based on January 1 data.

Current Available ICU Capacity by Region

• Bay Area: 8.5%
  
• Greater Sacramento: 14.4%
• Northern California: 34.1%
• San Joaquin Valley: 0.0%
• Southern California: 0.0%

Current Status of Regional Stay at Home Order in Affected Regions

• San Joaquin Valley: Remains under order because four-week ICU projections are less than 15%.
• Southern California: Remains under order because four-week ICU projections are less than 15%.
• Greater Sacramento: Eligible to exit the order as early as January 2, however the order will likely be extended based on early ICU projections. Official ICU projections will be calculated beginning with January 1 data and posted publicly on January 2, which will inform future status of the region.
• Bay Area: Will remain under the order until January 8 at the earliest with potential to extend depending on four-week ICU capacity projections.

The ICU capacity projections are based on four factors: current estimated regional ICU capacity available, measure of current community transmission, current regional case rates and the proportion of ICU cases being admitted. Decreasing community transmission and increasing the health system capacity can help a region's projected ICU capacity so they can exit the order.

Read the full Regional Stay Home Order, Supplement to the Order, and frequently asked questions.

Due to high rates of COVID-19 hospitalizations impacting the health care system, California is also under a Limited Stay at Home Order. The order applies to all counties that are currently under the Regional Stay at Home Order and those in Tier One (Purple) of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The Limited Stay at Home Order will expire after the Regional Stay At Home Order has been terminated in all regions of the state.

Statewide COVID-19 Data as of Today

• California has 2,245,379 confirmed cases to date. Numbers may not represent true day-over-day change as reporting of test results can be delayed.

•  There were 27,237 newly recorded confirmed cases Wednesday.

•  The 7-day positivity rate is 11.6% and the 14-day positivity rate is 11.9%.

•  There have been 32,855,482 tests conducted in California. This represents an increase of 232,406 over the prior 24-hour reporting period.

•  As case numbers continue to rise in California, the total number of individuals who will have serious outcomes will also increase. There have been 25,386 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

•  As of December 30, a total of 335,983 vaccine doses have been administered statewide. As of December 28, a total of 1,762,900 vaccine doses have been distributed to local health departments and health care systems that have facilities in multiple counties.
  
  

  *Note: today's age and gender data include numbers reported as of December 29 due to a delay in analyzing demographic information for the cases from the prior 24 hours. Case, fatality and hospitalization data include numbers reported as of December 30.