As COVID-19 Cases Soar, Overwhelmed California Hospitals Worry About Rationing Care

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Physicians and nurses wear personal protective equipment while they attend to a COVID-19 patient in the ICU at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center in Tarzana, Calif. on December 18, 2020.

APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images

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APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images

Coronavirus Updates
California Activates ‘Mass Fatality’ Program As State Sets New Virus Records

The worsening crisis comes as residents across the state are preparing for a holiday season unlike any other. Under the state’s stay-at-home order, residents are prohibited from gathering with anyone outside their immediate household.

The order has also meant strict new guidelines for businesses amid the holiday shopping season. While retail stores are allowed to remain open, they’re limited to a 20% indoor capacity. Apple Inc. announced on Saturday that it would temporarily close all 53 of its stores in California in an effort to help curb the spread of the virus and encourage people to stay at home.

Still, it seems many are flocking to stores for last-minute gifts. On Saturday, NBC’s Los Angeles affiliate tweeted and aerial video of overflowing parking lots at the Citadel Outlets shopping mall.

Even with COVID-19 hospitalizations at an all-time high in LA County and virus spread accelerating at rates never seen before, the Citadel Outlets look packed with holiday shoppers searching for parking spots. https://t.co/siWsYWviTN pic.twitter.com/4MPPoI95Tv

— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) December 20, 2020

The state’s COVID-19 restrictions have also forced major sporting events to change plans last minute. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena will no longer host this year’s College Football Playoff semifinals after the state said it would not make an exception for player guests at the game. The game will instead be held in Arlington, Texas. Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers recently announced that they will be spending the remainder of their season in Arizona.

The restrictions and spike in cases come as the first shipment of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech began arriving this past week. Gov. Gavin Newsom said some 721,500 total doses are expected in the state by the end of this week — and while the vaccine does provide hope, he urged residents to continue to be careful and stay at home.

«This is a deadly disease, a deadly pandemic, and we’re in the middle of it right now,» Newsom said. «We’re near the end, but we’re in the middle of the most acute peak.»

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