Gov. Newsom's stay-at-home order likely to be extended in Bay Area

Bay Area health officials anticipate extension of stay-at-home order

KTVU's Jesse Gary.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - It's technically possible that the end of the workweek could see the end of the stay-at-home order as the executive order from Gov. Gavin Newsom is set to expire on Friday.

However, it's not very likely.

Some Bay Area public health officials expect the state to extend the order indefinitely.

This is due to the surging number of new COVID-19 cases and deaths.

The other problem is the dwindling number of available ICU beds.

Newsom enacted the stay-at-home order three weeks ago for any of the state’s regions which saw ICU availability drop below 15%.

The Bay Area’s rate is now at 3%, a record low.

Officials have said repeatedly feared a surge on top of the current surge will soon hit.

Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a UCSF infectious diseases specialist, said he thinks the stay-at-home order will be extended because "unfortunately because we still haven’t seen the Christmas surge yet, and New Year’s is even more tempting in terms of wanting to celebrate."

Newsom's news conference on Friday will focus on the state budget.

But COVID-19 has become such a large part of the budget, it's expected he’ll make mention about new coronavirus numbers, and if the stay-at-home order is extended.