California health officials said the number of available ICU beds continues to drop in the San Francisco Bay area, to 6.3% of capacity on Friday. This is leading many Bay Area health experts to say that a home stay request, initially set to expire next week, is likely to be extended, reports the CBS SF Bay Area. San Francisco has already done so.
The possibility of a prolonged ban on outdoor dining worries many restaurant operators. The owner of Mexico Tipico in Union City has invested thousands of dollars in its external configuration and heat lamps. He hoped to use them again next week.
“All restaurants in this area have been affected because there is no business now,” said Ricardo Soto, who runs Mexico Tipico. “Families who are going down want to enjoy their food at the table, not take it with them.”
Soto said that an extension of the ban on outdoor dining could lead to more layoffs at his restaurant, but several restaurant owners said they were not surprised at the prospect of an extension.
“We spin so many times that I’m tired of spinning. I feel like I’m falling,” said Eric Nielsen, a partner at two restaurants in downtown San Jose. “We are concerned. Again, it seems undefined. Even if we open in late February, how is it? Like, are we really open for outdoor dinners again? And if we are, I hope the public comes out again.”
San Mateo County supervisor David Canepa said he felt sorry for small businesses, but said the ICU’s capacity is terrible and that is what the state considers when imposing the health order.
“At the moment, we are saving lives, make no mistake. Therefore, the actions we take today will really guarantee that we will be protected in the future,” said Canepa.
The supervisor said that currently about 5% of the city’s ICU beds are available. He is asking the county health department to extend the health order and follow San Francisco’s example.
“We are not even calculating the numbers for December 25, the numbers for Christmas and, moreover, the numbers for the New Year,” said supervisor Canepa.
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at UCSF, said that hospitals are likely to see more patients with COVID in the coming days because of the holidays.
“It is inevitable that we will have an increase (caused by the Thanksgiving holiday) over an increase (because of Christmas) over an increase (from illegal New Year’s Eve parties). If you look at Christmas travel for example, actually exceeded Thanksgiving Day, which was already the longest travel time of the year, “said Dr. Chin-Hong.
He said the number of patients with COVID is expected to drop by the end of January.