Entire Bay Area goes into virus lockdown at midnight
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - Just before midnight on Thursday, the entire Bay Area must go under a mandatory stay-at-home-order. While many counties had gone into voluntary lockdown already, today San Mateo, Napa, Solano and Santa Cruz counties will join them.
The Bay Area is seeing a surge in cases of COVID-19, hospitals are filling up and ICU capacity has now dipped below 15%.
This is something Gov. Gavin Newsom warned would happen. After he announced a regional stay-at-home order earlier this month and divided the state into five sections when tracking the impact of the virus.
More than 53,000 cases of COVID-19 were reported Wednesday alone -- a state record. The Bay Area ICU availability is now at 12.9%, according to state data.
Some Bay Area counties already took these measures ahead of time to try to slow the spread of the virus. Some non-essential businesses, like UK Hair Salon in Burlingame, will have to close.
The owner extended hours on Wednesday to try to see as many clients as possible.
"We are going to be here until whenever until our last client leaves," owner Jeff Silverman said. "When we are closed we don't make any money I've still got to pay my landlord."
At the Art and Gold Salon in Redwood City, the final clients are being trimmed and styled. All appointments for the busy holiday season have been cancelled.
It's a disappointment, they say, since San Mateo County had been a hold out for the lockdown until now.
"We were grateful for the fact that they tried to keep us open as long as possible," says Sergio De La Fuente of Art and Gold.
Randy Musterer, owner of Sushi Confidential, said the shutdown is going to be tough.
"We know where the trend was going. I can personally understand from a health standpoint…but from a business standpoint just being shutdown one week early we lost thousands and thousands of dollars from that."
And Ramin Bahabi, owner of Caffe Central, said he doesn't know how he's going to pay the bills.
"I've got a 5000 sq foot building that I'm still expected to pay rent on," says Allan Rodgers, owner of The Hub, a bar and entertainment venue in Redwood City.
"We have been dealing with this for more than nine months," Rodgers said. "It has been a really rough time for restaurants, retail. Hair dressers, nail salons. Everyone. We have to make a living. We spent a lot of money making this parklet. And then they come after us and say no outdoor seating. I kind of don’t get it."
In order to stay afloat, he's selling frozen meals inspired by his native New Zealand. Rodgers says the COVID-19 response was much different back home.
"We took the lashings and we got on with it. here it's been a long, slow painful situation that is probably not going to get better for another three or four months," he says.
The shutdown might be too long for fine dining restaurants like Arya Steakhouse. After complying with every regulation, they say this last one is hard to swallow.
"Now they're shutting down the patio and we cannot survive only with takeout," says Mike Hashemi, executive chef and owner of Arya Steakhouse.
Employees say they're already losing thousands of dollars each month. Now they're appealing to their loyal customers for help.
"And if you all could show me some love by coming down to the restaurant, ordering takeout, possibly buying some gift cards for your family or friends, I would be eternally grateful," says Jennifer Giordano, an employee of Arya.
Officials say the virus is spreading at such a fast rate in California – it could overwhelm our healthcare systems. These tight restrictions now cover 98% of California's population.
The stay-at-home order goes into effect tonight at 11:59 p.m. It will remain in effect for at least three weeks. The soonest the bay area can come out of this is Jan. 8.
KTVU's Azenith Smith contributed to this report.