California Texts COVID-19 'Stay Home' Alert To San Joaquin Valley, Southern California Region Residents
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — While some people in southern Sacramento County may have received emergency alerts from the state on Tuesday, officials stress that the area is not under the new stay-at-home order yet.
On Tuesday, the California Office of Emergency Services issued to a mass text message to the 11-county Southern California and 12-county San Joaquin Valley regions.
The alert was part of the state's new stay-at-home order that goes into effect when a region drops below 15 percent ICU capacity. Both Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley are now under those increased restrictions.
The text urged people to stay home, wear masks and physically distance if they have to go outside.
Sacramento County has been grouped into the Greater Sacramento region as part of the order. As of Tuesday, the state's numbers show ICU capacity for Greater Sacramento as 18.8 percent - meaning the new restrictions have yet to go into place.
Still, officials say some people in Sacramento County may have received the alerts due to cell phone towers - which were used to send out the messages - being geographically based instead of jurisdictionally. This means people in the south of the county, as well as people who may have traveled near or beyond the San Joaquin County border recently may have received the alert.
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As of Tuesday, San Joaquin Valley's ICU capacity stands at just 5.6 percent.
