While California remains the state most affected by COVID-19 with 3.2 million cases since the start of the pandemic, according to data from
The New York Times, the numbers have been trending downward with 39% fewer cases in the last 14 days. Accordingly, Governor Gavin Newsom announced in a virtual press conference on Monday that the previous regional stay-at-home orders imposed in December have been lifted. We re seeing a flattening of the curve everything that should be up is up, everything that should be down is down case rates, positivity rates, hospitalizations, ICUs, he said, according to ABC News.
The regional tactic had split the state into five regions, mandating residents to stay home when ICU capacities were lower than 15%. While the Northern California region never hit the threshold, Sacramento exited on Jan. 12, and the Bay Area, San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California are also now exempt since four-week projections show ICUs should be above the threshold.