On Thursday November 19, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a curfew for California counties in the purple and most restrictive tier of his reopening system. This includes 41 counties out of the 58 across the state, including Los Angeles County. 

Referred to as a “limited Stay at Home” order, the curfew stops short of a full lockdown and is set to take place after 10 p.m. on Saturday November 21, and last until 5 a.m. December 21.

Due to the rise in #COVID19 cases, CA is issuing a limited Stay at Home Order.

Non-essential work and gatherings must stop from 10pm-5am in counties in the purple tier.

This will take effect at 10pm on Saturday and remain for 1 month.

Together–we can flatten the curve again.

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) November 19, 2020

“We are sounding the alarm,” Newsom said Thursday. 

The limited stay at home order is similar to the order that was placed in March, with nonessential businesses, restaurants, meetings and gatherings prohibited by the state of California. State officials say that activities conducted between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. are often what they consider to be non-essential, and most likely related to social gatherings that could contribute to the spread of COVID-19. 

Officials say that individuals are permitted to go to grocery stores, drugs stores, order take-out or spend time outside as long as they follow state and Los Angeles County safety guidelines, such as wearing face masks and maintaining a distance of six feet. 

In California, it is required that individuals wear a face mask when venturing outside their homes, with very limited exceptions. 

The curfew is aimed to control and minimize the ever increasing spread of coronavirus, as many counties in California are seeing a large increase in the number of cases daily, and just a few weeks ago California surpassed 1 million cases. In just the first week of November, California saw a 50 percent increase in COVID-19 case rates. 

“We know from our stay at home order this spring, which flattened the curve in California, that reducing the movement and mixing of individuals dramatically decreases COVID-19 spread, hospitalizations, and deaths,” said California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. “We may need to take more stringent actions if we are unable to flatten the curve quickly. Taking these hard, temporary actions now could help prevent future shutdowns.”

The limited Stay at Home order comes with the holidays also fast approaching, a time that health officials worry could cause the number of cases to increase as people travel and gather. L.A. County discourages any kind of holiday travel, and a travel advisory has been issued along with Oregon and Washington, encouraging people to self-quarantine if traveling. 

See Related Story: Holiday Travel During COVID-19 Pandemic