SACRAMENTO December 10, 2020 – With COVID-19 spreading at an increasing rate throughout the state and many Californians now under a mandatory, Regional Stay-at-Home Order, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) will issue a region-wide emergency alert for the Greater Sacramento Region at noon on Friday, December 11, asking residents to stay home except for essential activities.  

The alert comes as the most recent statistics on COVID-19, including data on Intensive Care Unit (ICU) capacity shows that the Greater Sacramento Region has dropped below 15% triggering a Regional Stay-at-Home Order in the area. 

This message is informational only, and individuals who receive wireless alerts should not contact law enforcement or call 9-1-1.  

The following alert will be sent via text message through the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) system to cell phone users across the Greater Sacramento Region:  

“State of California: New public health stay at home order in your area. COVID-19 is spreading rapidly. Stay home except for essential activity. Wear a mask. Keep your distance. Visit covid19.ca.gov”  

The message will also be sent in Spanish and will read:  

“Estado de CA: Nueva orden de salud publica en tu area. Quedate en casa, excepto para la actividad esencial. COVID-19 se esta propagando rapidamente. Usa mascarilla. Manten tu distancia.”  

The geographically-targeted text messages will be sent to residents in the Greater Sacramento Region counties of: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Colusa, El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, Sierra, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba.

The Regional Stay-at-Home Order will take effect in the region at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, December 10, and will remain in effect for at least three weeks. Regions will be eligible to exit from the order and return to the Blueprint for a Safer Economy once the ICU capacity projections for the following month are above or equal to 15%.

Read the full Regional Stay at Home Order and frequently asked questions. Subsequent WEA messages could be sent to other regions of the state if they move into stay-at-home status.

It’s also important to reiterate, this message is informational only and individuals who receive wireless alerts should not contact law enforcement or call 9-1-1.  Under the terms of the State Department of Public Health order, when ICU capacity drops below 15% in a region, a list of sectors must close by 11:59 p.m. the next day including bars, breweries, distilleries, and wineries (except for production, manufacturing, and retail), hair salons and barbershops, and personal care services. In addition, a number of sectors in these regions, including restaurants, retail and shopping centers and hotels and lodging, will have additional modifications in addition to 100% masking and physical distancing. 

Critical infrastructure, schools and non-urgent medical and dental care can remain open with appropriate infectious disease preventative measures. Get more details on how to protect yourself from COVID-19: www.covid19.ca.gov

Learn more about Wireless Emergency Alerts: www.calalerts.org