Stay-at-Home order is extended, but churches are open: The latest in COVID restrictions

Here, once again, are the latest restrictions imposed on businesses and activities, as officials battle the renewed tide of COVID-19 cases:

Regional Stay-at-Home Order is Extended

The state and county's stay-at-home orders have been extended, and this time no particular ending date has been offered. The state's original Stay-at-Home Order - which was imposed on the 11-county Southern California area just before midnight on Dec. 6 - was supposed to expire on Dec. 28. But with the explosion of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, the capacity at intensive-care units across the region has reached virtually 0%. And because of travel and gatherings over Christmas and New Year, that situation is not expected to improve soon.

Restaurants

• Still no on-site dining is allowed at restaurants.

• Drive-through, take-out and delivery, however, remain available. 

Religious Services & Demonstrations

• Places of worship can now offer services indoors as well as outdoors, as a result of recent Supreme Court rulings. Strict physical distancing and other precautions are required, however.

Hotels

Hotels and motels are not available for tourists. Short-term rentals are now only for emergencies and "critical infrastructure support." While the Stay-at-Home Order is in effect, "hotels and lodging can only offer accommodation for COVID-19 mitigation and containment measures, treatment measures, accommodation for essential workers, or providing housing solutions, including measures to protect homeless populations."

Shops, Markets & Retail Businesses

All retail businesses are still limited to 20% of their normal capacity. That applies to essential retailers, such as markets. So there may still be lines to get into a store.

What must remain closed

• Barbershops, hair and nail salons and other personal care services 

• Cardrooms

• Hair salons and barbershops

• Movie theaters (except drive-in)

• Museums, zoos, and aquariums

• Wineries, bars, breweries, and distilleries

Gatherings

The prohibition here remains pretty sweeping. According to the Safer at Home Order, "All public and private gatherings with individuals not in your household are prohibited." 

• Drive-in movies/events/car parades require that the occupants in each car be members of only one household.

• Pools that serve more than one household may open only for regulated lap swimming with one person per lane.

• Between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., people are also not allowed to engage with members of other households, except "activities associated with the operation, maintenance, or usage of an Essential Business, Healthcare Operation, Essential Infrastructure, Essential Government Function or required by law."

Recreation

• You’re also only supposed to be with members of your own households when you go to beaches, trails, parks, golf courses, tennis courts, pickleball courts, archery ranges, skate parks, bike parks and community gardens - or pretty much anywhere else.

• These facilities can not sell food or drink to be consumed on-site.

• Overnight stays at campgrounds are not permitted

Playgrounds

• Playgrounds can remain open. Though they were closed at the beginning of the original Stay-at-Home Order, about a dozen state legislators lobbied Gov. Gavin Newsom saying playgrounds are "necessary for the mental and physical health of children to have opportunities to expend their physical energy and play." The state - and then the county - reversed the order.

Schools and Day Camps

• Day camps are, indeed, only for the day, since they must cease operations between the 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Schools with waivers can remain open, with the ongoing restrictions such as limited occupancy.

Offices

• All non-essential office-based businesses are to cease indoor operations but can allow employees to work online or other remote methods.

• Essential office-based businesses must limit the indoor capacity to 25 percent of the usual maximum occupancy.

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